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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



THE CATHOUC CENTENARY. 



DEDICATION. 

TO THE MOST REVEREND JOHN M. FARLEY, D. D., 

ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK. 

ASSISTANT AT THE PONTIFICAL THRONE. 

THE EMINENT CHURCHMAN WHO RULES THE MOST 

IMPORTANT SEE IN CHRISTENDOM WITH WISDOM AND 

EVER-INCREASING SUCCESS, THE DEVOTED PASTOR, THE 

FRIEND OF THE POOR, THE STAUNCH CHAMPION OF 

CATHOLIC EDUCATION, THE ELOQUENT DEFENDER OF 

THE RIGHTS OF THE CHURCH, WHOSE PERSONAL 

ATTAINMENTS AND EXALTED POSITION MAKE HIM AN 
INFLUENTIAL ECCLESIASTIC, WHOSE VOICE ON PUB- 
LIC QUESTIONS IS HEARD WITH RESPECT FROM THE 
NORTH TO THE SOUTH, FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE 
PACIFIC— THIS MODEST RECORD OF THE MOST MEM- 
ORABLE WEEK IN THE HISTORY OF CATHOLICISM 
IN AMERICA IS HUMBLY DEDICATED BY THE LEAST OF 
THE MILLION AND A QUARTER THAT REVERE HIM AS 
ARCHBISHOP, OBEY HIM AS SPIRITUAL RULER, FOLLOW 
HIM AS TEACHER AND LOVE HIM AS FATHER. 




(Copyright, 1906, by Marceau.) 
MOST REV. JOHN M. FARLEY. 
Archbishop of New York. 



THE 

CATHOLIC CENTENARY 

1808—1908 
AS A NEWSPAPER MAN SAW IT 



BY 

AUGUSTIN McNALLY 



With an Introduction by Ex-Chief Justice Morgan J. O'Brien, 

an Article on The Ancient Glories of the Roman Catholic 

Church and a Closing Word by William Winter, the 

Editorial Remarks of the Principal New York 

Newspapers; also Eight Full Page and 

Four Double Page Illustrations. 



NEW YORK 

MOFFAT. YARD €r COMPANY 

1908 



*$> 



I* — — 
USRARYof CONFESS. 

Two QoDits Kectuvtg 

JUN 5 1908 

</Oi>yn*i«i coif* 
CLASS A Mc, Nu 



Copyright, 1908, by 

Augustin McNally and 

Jefferson Winter. 



s 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. IX 



A WORD FOR THE BOOK. 

i 

Good reader : In other books this space is usually pre- 
occupied by that age-worn institution, The Preface, 
wherein is set forth the reason of publication. The 
preface explains, sometimes apologizes, and the last is 
worse than the first. Both are foreign to the traditions 
of the modern newspaper man. It is his vocation to make 
the public explain and the transgressor repent. By his 
very nature he is proof against explanations of any kind ; 
when he invades the field held in "happy memory" by the 
literary fellows, the invasion is never humbled by an 
apology. The literary man, after all, is only a block re- 
moved from the reporter, and a good reporter could 
"cover" that block with as much ease as Marion Craw- 
ford would write a preface to his book. 

The writer has, therefore, evaded the burdens of a 
preface and contented himself with a word for this modest 
Record of an event that has already taken its place, and 
a very prominent one it is, in the history of Catho- 
licity in this country. He makes no apology for its ap- 
pearance, though he would gladly correct any defects in 
its composition. Except where otherwise indicated, the 
present volume is the collected, revised and augmented 
reports of the centennial proceedings that appeared in 
The New York Tribune. There are ten chapters, and each 
is a story in itself. The first narrates the preparations 
that were made for the observance of the centennial, and 



X THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

that entire chapter, which includes an interview with the 
Archbishop of New York and the opinions of numerous 
broad-minded citizens, was taken from a supplement of 
six pages issued w T ith The Tribune of Sunday, April 5. 

And here the writer avails himself of this opportunity 
to thank the paper that employs him for permission to 
reprint his humble contributions. Though it was an as- 
signment apart from his usual occupation on the paper, 
he was encouraged by the editors, and during the week's 
celebration he was permitted to furnish the Associated 
Press, twice a day, with accounts of the various incidents 
of the centennial. The attitude of the Press in general 
has not been overlooked. The entire editorials that ap- 
peared in the morning and afternoon papers of New York 
City, forming an impartial estimate of the Catholic 
Church, are reproduced with the approval of the publish- 
ers of those journals. 

The introduction was written for me by that splendid 
type of the American citizen, ex- Justice Morgan J. 
O'Brien. How much I value that kindness would be of 
no interest to the public. Mr. William Winter, the ven- 
erable dramatic critic of The Tribune, has increased my 
indebtedness to him by writing A Closing Word and per- 
mitting the use of his beautiful tribute called "The An- 
cient Glories of the Catholic Church." That was written, 
at my request, for The Tribune's supplement of April 5. 
There are numerous persons to whom I owe a debt of 
appreciation for their encouragement. Let them know 
that their kindness will not soon be forgotten. 

But there is one to whom I can make no adequate ex- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XI 

pression of gratitude, His Grace the Archbishop of New 
York. That Prelate has not only approved of this simple 
record, but has allowed me to dedicate it to him. And 
it is only right that I should make known here that His 
Grace generously abandoned, in my favor, his intention 
of writing a book that was to have been more compre- 
hensive, and, of course, would have been read with pleas- 
ure by his flock. If there be a grateful thought in the 
dedicatory lines, let it convey my thanks. For the rest I 
have no fears. If this book should prove a failure, in a 
material sense, I shall pocket the experience and find 
pleasure in the reflection that he was a wise journalist 
who inquired "Why in thunder should a newspaper man 
have money, anyhow ?" 

And some cool evening, when the last of the multitude 
has passed over the only span on the American Continent, 
I shall gather myself under the right wing of Horace 
Greeley, light the pipe that drives dull care away, and 
allow nature to take its course. They will all pass in re- 
view before me: John reminding me of the risk; "Jim- 
mie" of the fickleness of the public; Jane, pouting, 
Catherine, very sorry but proud, and Mary, gentle as a 
lamb, soothing wounded vanity with sweet words. But 
ah ! the worst rub of all will be when I behold in the dis- 
tance an iron Counsellor of Christian Perfection (Rodri- 
guez redivivus), a stern face and an inquiring eye. He'll 
wind his big arms about me and together we'll walk 
through the blue fields of old Kentucky. Presently we 
shall arrive at a brook. The Counsellor will place his 
biretta at an angle devilishly tormenting, and when the 



XII THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

sun is going down behind the distant hill he will address 
me thus : 

"McNally, you've forgotten your A, B, C's," and then 
offer me an open book, — the Monk's Alphabet. 

His index finger will rest heavily on the letter A, and 
I'll know, then, that it was especially written for me. 
The handwriting on the wall ! That I may be the more 
impressed, he will read it aloud for me (he never could 
sing), and his accentuation will make of these words a 

paring knife that will cut away the sting of defeat, 

Ama nesciri et pro nihilo reputari; hoc tibi 
salubrius est, et utilius, qttam laudari 
ab hominibus. 

Augustin McNally. 
New York, May 24, 1908. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XIII 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Archbishop Farley. . *, , . . . .Frontispiece 

Cardinal McCloskey Facing page 2 

Cardinal Logue .Facing page 20 

Ancient Order of Hibernians Facing page 34 

Cardinal Gibbons Facing page 52 

Monsignor Falconio Facing page 72 

Holy Name Society Facing page 92 

Archbishop Farley and Cardinal Logue .Facing page 116 

Major General Barry Facing page 120 

Archbishop Hughes Facing page 130 

Archbishop Corrigan. , Facing page 144 

Morgan J. O'Brien ..Facing page 154 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XV 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 
Preparing for the Centennial. 

CHAPTER II. 
An Irish Cardinal Arrives off Sandy Hook. 

CHAPTER III. 
A Million Catholics Give Thanks. 

CHAPTER IV. 
Eve of a Memorable Day. 

CHAPTER V. 
Grand Te Deum at St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

CHAPTER VI. 
Mass Meeting at Carnegie Music Hall. 

CHAPTER VII. 
Reception at the Catholic Club. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart at the Cathedral. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Forty Thousand Americans Make Public Profession of Loyalty to 

the Papacy. 

CHAPTER X. 
Editorial Opinions of the Daily Papers. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XVII 



ARCHBISHOP'S HOUSE, 

452 Madison Ave., New York, 

May 25, 1908. 

My Dear Mr. McNally: — 

I shall be glad to see brought together, in one volume, the 
leading facts and features of the centennial celebration of the 
Diocese of New York. 

This memorable event has called forth such enthusiasm from 
within the Church and such sympathy from without that it is 
not too much to assume that it marks an epoch in the history 
of this great city, and, as some are fain to think, in the religious 
history of the country. 

Perhaps never before in the United States has there been 
such a unanimous expression of kindly feeling toward the great 
Mother Church on the part of those who are still outsido her 
pale. This fact also would justify the demand that a record of 
the celebration in permanent form should be made and handed 
down to posterity. 

There are those who believe that this spirit of Christian 
charity is a sign full of hope for the reunion of Christendom at 
no very distant day. God grant that such hope may be 
realized! 

The important part taken by the entire Press of our city, 
and indeed of the country at large, in spreading the knowl- 
edge of the different phases of the festivities is recognized by 
all, and this very interesting volume which you have carefully 



XVIII THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

compiled from the newspaper reports is a striking example of 
the rapid, accurate and complete methods of modern journalism 
and reveals what a tremendous instrument for good the Press 
is when properly managed. 

With sentiments of high esteem, I am, 

Faithfully yours, 





THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 



XIX 



THE ORDER OF PROCESSION". 

Prelates who participated in the ceremonies at St. Pat- 
rick's, Tuesday, April 28, 1908: 

MASTER OP CEREMONIES. 
Rt. Rev. Mgr. P. J. HAYES, D. D. 



BISHOPS. 
Rt. Rev. D. J. O'Connell, D. D., 

Titular Bishop-elect of Sebaste. 
Rt. Rev. Sorer Stephen Ortynsky, 

D. D., Greek Bishop. 
Rt. Rev. G. A. Guertin, D. D., 

Bishop of Manchester. 
Rt. Rev. L. P. Walsh, D. D., 

Bishop of Portland. 
Rt. Rev. J. B. Morris, D. D., 

Bishop of Little Rock. 
Rt. Rev. James B. Davis, D. D., 

Bishop of Davenport. 
Rt. Rev. James A. Hartley, D. D., 

Bishop of Columbus. 
Rt. Rev. Thomas A. Hendrick, D. D., 

Bishop of Cebu. 
Rt. Rev. J. F. Regis Canevin, D. D., 

Bishop of Pittsburg-. 
Rt. Rev. William J. Kenny, D. D. f 

Bishop of St. Augustine. 
Rt. Rev. B. J. Keiley, D. D., 

Bishop of Savannah. 
Rt. Rev. J. P. Fitzmaurice, 

Bishop of Erie. 
Rt. Rev. E. P. Allen, D. D., 

Bishop of Mobile. 
Rt. Rev. John Monaghan, D. D., 

Bishop of Wilmington. 
Rt. Rev. E. P. Prendergast, D. D., 

V. G., Auxiliary Bishop of Phila. 
Rt. Rev. M. J. Hoban, D. D. f 

Bishop of Scranton. 
Rt. Rev. P. J. Donahue, D. D., 

Bishop of Wheeling. 
Rt. Rev. Michael Tierney, D. D., 

Bishop of Hartford. 
Rt. Rev. T. D. Beaven, D. D., 

Bishop of Springfield. 
Rt. Rev. I. P. Horstman, D. D., 

Bishop of Cleveland. 
Rt. Rev. John Brady, D. D., 

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston. 
Rt. Rev. J. J. Hennessy, D. D., 

Bishop of Wichita. 
Rt. Rev. John S. Foley, D. D., 

Bishop of Detroit. 
Rt. Rev. Richard Scannell, D. D., 

Bishop of Omaha. 
Rt. Rev. M. F. Burke, D. D., 

Bishop of St. Joseph. 
Rt. Rev. C. P. Maes, D. D., 

Bishop of Oovington. 
Rt. Rev. H. P. Northrop, D. D., 

Bishop of Charleston. 



Rt. Rev. F. S. Chatard, D. D., 

Bishop of Indianapolis. 
Most Rev. Robert Browne, D. D., 

Bishop of Cloyne. 

ARCHBISHOPS. 

Most Rev. Henry Moeller, D. D., 

Archbishop of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Most Rev. W. H. O'Connell, D. D., 

Archbishop of Boston, Mass. 
Most Rev. James H. Blenk, D. D., 

Archbishop of New Orleans, La. 
Most Rev. Paul Bruchesi, D. D., 

Archbishop of Montreal, Canada. 
Most Rev. James E. Quigley.D.D., 

Archbishop of Chicago, 111. 
Most Rev. J. J. Glennon, D. D., 

Archbishop of St. Louis, Mo. 
Most Rev. John J. Keane, D. D. f 

Arohbishop of Dubuque, Iowa. 
Most Rev. John Ireland, D. D., 

Archbishop of St. Paul, Minn. 
Most Rev. Joseph Aversa, D. D. # 

Apostolic Delegate Porto Rico and 
Cuba. 

BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE 

OF NEW YORK. 

Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Cusack, D. D., 

Auxiliary Bishop of New York. 
Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Hickey, D. D., 

Coadjutor Bishop of Rochester. 
Rt. Rev. Charles H. Colt on, D. D., 

Bishop of Buffalo. 
Rt. Rev. John Joseph O'Connor, 

D. D., Bishop of Newark. 
Rt. Rev. James A. McFaul, D. D., 

Bishop of Trenton. 
Rt. Rev. Thomas M. A. Burke, 

D. D., Bishop of Albany. 
Rt. Rev. Henry Gabriels, D. D., 

Bishop of Ogdensburg. 
Rt. Rev. Charles E. McDonnell, 

D. D., Bishop of Brooklyn. 
Rt. Rev. Patrick A. Ludden, D. D., 

Bishop of Syracuse. 
Rt. Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, 

D. D., Bishop of Rochester. 
The Most Reverend Archbishop of 

New York. 
Most Rev. Diomede Faleonio, D. D., 

Apostolic Delegate for the United 
States 
His Eminence Cardinal GIBBONS. 
His Eminence Cardinal LOGUE. 



XX THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 



AN INTRODUCTION. 

By MORGAN J. O'BRIEN. 

The Centennial of the foundation of the See of New York 
has passed into history as an event of international importance. 
In any record which may be made of the wonderful success 
that attended the efforts of all who were engaged, in one form 
or another, in marking the event, it is but proper that the first 
place should be accorded to him whose guiding mind and mas- 
terful hand initiated, inspired and successfully executed the 
plans which made the week of celebration one of the most 
memorable and remarkable of Church celebrations in our coun- 
try. 

While some were inclined to regard the experiment of such 
a celebration as one of doubtful advantage, Archbishop Farley 
saw clearly the benefits which would result from a proper cele- 
bration of an event which was designed to unite the two loftiest 
and best sentiments that can actuate mankind, namely, religion 
and patriotism. Never hesitating, but with the utmost zeal and 
enthusiasm, he took up the project and brought it to a trium- 
phant culmination. That he was correct in his judgment that 
the result would be extremely beneficial in promoting a greater 
regard for religion and patriotism is now the verdict of all. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XXI 

The widespread results of the Centennial may be measured 
by the spontaneous appreciation of the President of the United 
States, who congratulated "all our people upon the general im- 
pulse to higher patriotism given by the way in which the cele- 
bration was conducted." Such an expression at this time is a 
fitting sequel to the glowing tribute which Washington paid to 
the splendid services rendered by Catholics during the Revolu- 
tion, and which caused Lincoln to send that great Archbishop 
of New York, Dr. Hughes, to plead the cause of the Union be- 
fore the Cabinets of Europe, and is evidence that the Catholics 
of New York under Archbishop Farley are still engaged in pro- 
moting the highest ideals and standards of patriotism. Fortu- 
nate indeed were we at such a time to have as our spiritual 
head and guide a man and priest of the attainments and char- 
acter of Archbishop Farley, to whose hands have been entrusted 
the destinies of the greatest diocese in Christendom, excepting 
only the Holy City. 

Appointed to the See of New York as the unanimous choice 
of the people, the suffragan clergy, Bishops and Archbishops of 
fhe United States, Archbishop Farley secured the position of 
great honor, but of equally great responsibility, calling for the 
exercise of the highest qualities of the scholar, the churchman 
and the man of affairs. At the outset, with tact and judgment, 
he suceeded in adjusting all differences without injustice, and 



XXII THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

became the great peacemaker in uniting clergy and laity in the 
ties of concord and charity. This quality is exercised not alone 
in this diocese, but his influence in the hierarchy has been such 
that he was able to add the weight and influence of his position 
and character in securing, with the co-operation of others, that 
harmony and unity so essential to the advancement of religion, 
and the working/ out of the destiny of the Church in America. 
Happily the days of misunderstanding and lack of harmony in 
matters of policy have passed, and no greater tribute could be 
paid to the great Archbishops of this country than a reference 
to the admirable manner in which they have guided and 
directed their people, and in the way they have secured that 
unity and harmony without which development and success 
along right lines would be difficult, if not impossible. As the 
result of this spirit of unity, we have secured in this country 
an exemplification of that hierarchiai chain, which by succes- 
sive links unites the laity to the priests, tjhe priests to the 
Bishop, and the Bishop to the Vicar of Christ, and thus, by 
links stronger than steel, the Catholics have become of one 
heart and mind in all that tends to secure the greatest blassings 
of religion and the utmost success and prosperity of our coun- 
try. 

In addition to this character of peacemaker, the Archbishop 
is regarded as one of the great champions of Catholic education. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XXIII 

His insistance that every parish must have a school, and if 
needs be that a school should be built before the church, has 
borne fruit in the increased number of schools, and their im- 
proved equipment and high standard of scholarship. Cathedral 
College will be a lasting monument to his zeal for the higher 
education of the clergy. In this connection it is appropriate to 
refer to his splendid services in behalf of the Catholic Univer- 
sity at Washington, that crowning glory of our educational 
system. Encountering the difficulties incident to any new vent- 
ure, this great University has had its struggles, and those of a 
nature so serious that many feared for the outcome; but there 
was always one who from its inception has never lost faith and 
confidence in its ultimate success, and, as the result of his re- 
cent efforts in tiding over its financial difficulties, he has re- 
moved all cause of anxiety on this score by placing it upon a 
thoroughly sound financial basis. Not alone by contributions of 
money, but in the loyal and unqualified support which he has 
caused New York to accord to the University, he has made it 
certain that even though he were to carry on the work alone, it 
was to continue as one of the great educational institutions of 
the land. 

Another among his many-sided activities was his initiation 
and support of that great work, the Catholic Encyclopedia, 
whioh when completed will not only be a wonderful record of 



XXIV THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Catholic work and deed, but will necessarily be a subject of 
just pride and a source of enlightenment, not along to Catholics 
the world over, but also to others who, differing in faith, will 
there find the garnered fruit of ages, taken from every clime 
and country, and pointing out more eloquently than in any 
other form what Catholics have done toward the advancement 
of true Christian civilization. The third volume has just ap- 
peared, and gives evidence that this monumental work will be 
prosecuted with energy and ability. Its progress has surpassed 
all expectation, its triumph is assured, and scholars have pre- 
dicted that when completed it will be one of the best, if not the 
best, Catholic Encyclopedia ever published. That it could not 
have been undertaken and brought to its present degree of per- 
fection without the support and co-operation of Archbishop 
Farley, thse who are famil'iar with the difficulties encountered 
when the project was first undertaken know full well. When 
the undertaking wavered, and would have been abandoned, it 
was his courage and hearty support which strengthened the 
weak and confirmed the strong and which made possible the 
establishment of a great work, which is destined to reflect credit 
on all who had any part in its creation and accomplishment. 

History will honor Archbishop Farley not only as a peace- 
maker and as a patron of Catholic education, from the school 
to the university, but also as a stanch defender of the rights 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XXV 

of the Holy See at a memorable crisis in its history. The mass 
meeting called by him, which sustained the Holy See in its con- 
flict with the French Government, turned the tide of public 
opinion in America to the justice of the Catholic cause, a pro- 
test which was voiced by one of the greatest assemblages of 
Christendom, which was echoed along the banks of the Seine, 
and warned the persecutors of the Church in France that the 
battle for religious liberty and freedom of conscience could not 
be fought without attracting the attention of the world and the 
denunciation of those who would attempt to destroy liberty of 
conscience. This deep and implacable voice of protest was 
heard throughout the world, and the quarrel when once under- 
stood secured for the Catholics of France the moral support and 
encouragement of all lovers of justice. By his timely action and 
eloquent defence of the Catholic cause, he rendered a memora- 
ble service to religion, and demonstrated the fact that the 
Church has no difficulty with a republic founded on and guided 
by the principles of justice. 

Nor should his solicitude for all that affects the welfare and 
prosperity of our own country be overloked, and in recording 
his many acts of patriotism, the part which he took in the re- 
cent panic in allaying the anxiety of the people, and in assur- 
ing them of the stability of our banking institutions, should not 
pass without mention. His words of advice and counsel, spoken 






XXVI THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

so opportunely and so effectively, were a potent factor in stem- 
ming the rising tide of unrest and distrust which for a time 
threatened our national prosperity. 

In addition to the great public services above mentioned, he 
has in contemplation two other projects full of promise for the 
good of religion, the inauguration of a great Catiholic newspaper, 
and the foundation of a college for foreign missions. In thus 
emphasizing the general and widespread subjects which have 
enlisted his mind and heart, we are not unmindful of the 
splendid services which, as administrator of this great Arch- 
diocese, he has rendered to religion and charity. As these were 
also fully enumerated by those who dwelt upon the progress and 
development of the Church in this Diocese in the century that 
has passed, it is unnecessary for us to do more than give them 
a passing mention, and no tribute that could be paid would 
speak as eloquently of his life-work as do the mute and voice- 
less, though enduring, monuments which, in the shape of 
churches and hispitals, homes for the aged and asylums for the 
young, are to be found scattered throughout our great city, 
dedicated to religion, education and charity. 

This introduction would be incomplete were we not to record 
the universal respect and affection which the Catholic people 
entertain for him as a model priest and Bishop. It has seemed 
proper at this time to refer to some of the achievements which 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XXVII 

have distinguished him as a great churchman, an illustrious 
prelate and a leading citizen, whose abiding faith in and love 
of our republic are surpassed by none, and who, enjoying the 
universal affection of his priests and people and the admiration 
and esteem of our non-Catholic brethren, rules with dignity and 
peace, justice and power, the See which in importance and 
influence for good ranks second only to the great See of Peter. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. XXIX 



THE ANCIENT GLORIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



BY WILLIAM WINTER. 

To think of the Roman Catholic Church is to think of the 
oldest, the most venerable, and the most powerful religious 
institution existing among men. I am not a churchman, of any 
kind; that, possibly, is my misfortune; but I am conscious of 
a profound obligation of gratitude to that wise, august, austere, 
yet tenderly human ecclesiastical power which, self-centred 
amid the vicissitudes of human affairs, and provident for men 
of learning, imagination, and sensibility throughout the world, 
has preserved the literature and art of all the centuries, has 
made architecture the living symbol of celestial aspiration, and, 
in poetry and in music, has heard, and has transmitted, the 
authentic voice of God. 

I say that I am not a churchman; but I would also say that 
the best hours of my life have been hours of meditation passed 
in the glorious cathedrals and among the sublime ecclesiastical 
ruins of England. I have worshipped in Canterbury and York; 
in Winchester and Salisbury; in Lincoln and Durham; in Ely 
and in Wells. I have stood in Tintern, when the green grass 
and the white daisies were waving in the summer wind, and 
have looked upon those gray and russet walls and upon those 
lovely arched casements, — among the most graceful ever devised 
by human art, — round which the sheeted ivy droops, and 
through which the winds of heaven sing a perpetual requiem. 

I have seen the shadows of evening slowly gather and softly 
fall, over the gaunt tower, the roofless nave, the giant pillars, 



XXX THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

and the shattered arcades of Fountains Abbey, in its seques- 
tered and melancholy solitude, where ancient Ripon dreams, in 
the spacious and verdant valley of the Skell. 1 have mused 
upon Netley, and Kirkstall, and Newstead, and Bolton, and 
Melrose and Dryburgh; and, at a midnight hour, I have stood 
in the grim and gloomy chancel of St. Columba's Cathedral, 
remote in the storm-swept Hebrides, and looked upward to the 
cold stars, and heard the voices of the birds of night, mingled 
with the desolate moaning of the sea. 

With awe, with reverence, with many strange and wild 
thoughts, I have lingered and pondered in those haunted, holy 
places, but one remembrance was always present,— the remem- 
brance that it was the Roman Catholic Church that created 
those forms of beauty, and breathed into them the breath of a 
divine life, and hallowed them forever; and, thus thinking, I 
have felt the unspeakable pathos of her long exile from the 
temples that her passionate devotion prompted and her loving 
labor reared. 



XXXII THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 



The White House, Washington, 

May 1, 1908. 
My Dear Archbishop: Now that the celebration of the 
anniversary is over, I want, in the first place, to congratulate 
you on its great success. In the next place, I want to congrat- 
ulate all our people on the impulse to higher patriotism given 
by the way in which the celebration was conducted, and, finally, 
in what, is much the least important, I wart to thank you 
personally for your very kind and courteous allusion to myself 
on last Tuesday. 

With all good wishes, believe me, 

Faithfully yours, 





Archbishop John M. Farley, 

452 Madison Avenue, 

New York. 



CHAPTER I. 

PREPARATIONS FOR A MEMORABLE 
ANNIVERSARY. 

(New York Tribune, Sunday, April 5, 1908.) 

CELEBRATION BOTH CIVIC AND RELIGIOUS. 



REVIEW OF 40,000 LAYMEN AT CATHEDRAL. 



MONSIGNOR FALCONIO TO IMPART POPE'S BLESS- 
ING—WEEK OF THANKSGIVING CERE- 
MONIES IN DIOCESE. 

With the rising of the sun next Wednesday the Catholic 
Church in this city will contemplate a hundred years of 
activity. It will have rounded out, on that day, a fruitful century. 
That Church, as is well known, was here long before Pius VII 
signed the bull by which it was encouraged to continue the labors 
of its early missionaries; but it was then a mission of the 
American mother church of Catholicity in Baltimore, and was 
governed from the old Maryland town. Rome gave it a Bishop 
and it looked upward. There was a body, and the head was 
where it ought to be, with the body. 

Gradually the diocese multiplied in membership, spread its 
teachings and increased its power for good. Rome, in time, 
gave it an Archbishop, and still later a Cardinal. There are 
now more than a million Catholics in the Diocese of New York. 



2 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

The completion of this hundred years of activity will be 
made by the clergy and laity, headed by Archbishop John M. 
Farley, an occasion for extraordinary rejoicing. As already pub- 
lished in The Tribune, the week beginning Sunday, April 26, 
has been set apart for that purpose. The programme, an elab- 
orate one, is now completed. Because of the unusual interest 
the celebration will have for a multitude of citizens, The Tribune 
presents to-day a special supplement reviewing the history of the 
Catholic Church in this diocese and enumerating its varied 
achievements. The entire proceedings will be reported in this 
paper. 

RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL CEREMONIES. 

The ceremonies attending the observance of the centenary 
will be both religious and civil, parochial and general, and the 
dominant note in the rejoicing will be one of gratitude. In 
fact, it will be a seven-day Te Deum for a great work well 
done. On the morning of April 26 a mass of thanksgiving will 
be sung in every Catholic Church, mission, chapel, convent, uni- 
versity and benevolent institution throughout the greater city. 
That is the day set apart by the Archbishop for parochial re- 
joicing, and numerous and varied parishes that comprise the 
archdiocese will join in the common offering. Appropriate re- 
marks on the character of the celebration will be made by the 
rectors in charge. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral will be the scene of the formal relig- 
ious ceremonies, and there, on the morning of April 28, the 
American hierarchy will join with Archbishop Farley and his 
people in a general thanksgiving. Two Cardinals and the Papal 
Delegate, Monsignor Falconio, will participate in the ceremony. 
At 11 o'clock the formal observance of the centenary will begin 




CARDINAL M'CLOSKEY. 
The first American Prelate to be made a Prince of the Church. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 3 

with a Pontifical Mass of thanksgiving, and the celebrant will 
be Cardinal Logue, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All 
Ireland. America's only representative in the Sacred College, 
Cardinal Gibbons, will deliver the sermon. The Papal Delegate 
will assist at the mass and share in the general rejoicing as 
the representative of the Vatican. 

TO IMPART POPE'S BLESSING. 

The Pope will crown the ceremonies with a special blessing, 
that will be imparted in his name by Monsignor Falconio. The 
same evening, at 8 o'clock, there will be Pontifical Vespers, and 
the Papal Delegate will be the celebrant. Archbishop John J. 
Glennon will preach. 

Wednesday will be children's day. On that morning delega- 
tions of little Catholics from every parish in the city will march 
to the Cathedral and, as their parents will have done the day 
previous, join in thanksgiving. There will be a solemn mass at 
10 o'clock, and a choir composed entirely of parochial school 
pupils will sing the various parts of it. The choir has been or- 
ganized and is being trained under the direction of Father 
Young, a Jesuit. 

That night the most important of the public functions will 
be held at Carnegie Music Hall. It will be a general meeting 
of the Catholic citizens of the town, to which distinguished non- 
Catholics have been invited. Ex- Justice Morgan J. O'Brien will 
preside. There will be lay and clerical speakers. The principal 
addresses will be made by Cardinal Logue, Archbishop Farley, 
Paul Fuller, W. Bourke Cochran, John J. Delany and Dr. James 
J. Walsh. On Thursday morning, April 30, there will be requiem 
services at the Cathedral for the deceased Bishops and Priests 



4 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

of the diocese. In the evening the Catholic Club will throw 
open its doors in honor of the visiting Prelates. 

PARADE OF 40,000 LAYMEN. 

The clergy have arranged to give a dinner at one of the 
hotels for Archbishop Farley and his distinguished confreres in 
the American hierarchy. The date of that function will be made 
known later. On Saturday afternoon the festivities will close 
with a May Day procession, in which at least 40,000 Catholic 
laymen will march. It will be headed by a committee of one 
hundred members of the Catholic Club, and will be reviewed by 
Archbishop Farley and his guests from a grandstand to be built 
in front of the Cathedral. This, it is expected, will be one of 
the most imposing gatherings of Catholics in one city since the 
still well remembered torchlight procession with which was 
closed the last Plenary Council of Baltimore. Every parish in 
the city will have a large representation. The committee on 
parade has ruled that the marchers shall not wear the regalia of 
any organization. It is not to be a day for the wearing of green 
or the display of uniforms, but one on which delegations of 
Catholics of Irish, German, Polish, Greek, Italian, Hungarian and 
Bohemian lineage will unite to show the strength of the Catholic 
body. The only adornment of the marchers will be a red, white 
and blue boutonniere. 

The arrangements for the centenary exercises are in the 
hands of committees of the clergy and laity, as follows : 

COMMITTEE OF THE CLERGY. 

Invitation — Trie Right Rev. Monsignor Mooney, V. G., P. A., 
chairman; the Right Rev. Monsignor McCready and the Rev. 
Matthew A. Taylor. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 5 

Printing — The Rev. Joseph F. Flannelly, chairman; the Rev. 
J. N. Connelly and the Rev. Dr. J. F. Delaney. 

Press — The Very Rev. Monsignor Murphy, chairman; the 
Rev. M. J. Henry, the Rev. L. J. Evers and the Rev. John T. 
Smith. 

Finance — The Rt. Rev. Monsignor Lavelle, V. G., chairman; 
the Rev. M. C. O'Farrell, the Rev. M. J. Phelan, the Rev. J. W. 
Power, the Rev. M. A. Cunnion, the Rev. Dr. F. H. Wall, the 
Rev. Peter McNamee, the Rev. J. L. Hoey, the Rev. E. T. 
McGinley, the Rev. J. J. Owens, the Rev. J. A. McKenna, the 
Rev. Thomas M. O'Keefe and the Rev. B. J. Reilly. 

Reception — The Right Rev. Monsignor Lavelle, V. G., chair- 
man; the Right Rev. Dr. Bishop Cusack, the Right Rev. Mon- 
signor Edwards, V. G. ; the Right Rev. Monsignor McGean, the 
Right Rev. Monsignor Kearney, the Right Rev. Monsignor Mc- 
Cready, the Right Rev. Monsignor McKenna, the Very Rev. 
Monsignor Lammel, the Rev. James J. Flood, the Rev. Dr. H. 
A. Brann, the Rev. G. A. Healy, the Rev. J. C. Henry, the Rev. 
Thomas J. Ducey, the Rev. N. J. Hughes, the Rev. J. A. Gleason, 
the Rev. W. L. Penny, the Rev. T. F. Lynch, the Rev. Henry 
Prat, the Rev. H. J. Gordon, the Rev. J. J. Keogan, the Rev. 
G. Huntman, the Rev. P. F. Maughan, the Rev. E. Cronin, the 
Rev. L. von Kovacs, the Rev. J. H. Strzelecki, the Rev. Dr. E. 
Heinlein, the Rev. J. T. Prout, the Rev. W. O'B. Pardow, S. J. ; 
the Rev. G. M. Searle, C. Sp., the Rev. Peter Grein, C. SS. R., 
the Rev. John Dolan, P. S. M., the Rev. Thomas Darbois, A. A., 
the Rev. Ernest Coppo, the Rev. Anthony Demo, the Rev. J. B. 
Stark, O. F. M., the Rev. William Biskorovany and the Rev. 
T. Wucker, S. P. M. 

School — The Rev. J. J. Kean, chairman; the Rev. Dr. John 



6 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

McQuirk, the Rev. William Livingston, the Rev. J. T. McEntyre, 
the Rev. J. B. Curry, the Rev. M. J. Considine, the Rev. T. F. 
Myhan, the Rev. P. J. Minogue, the Rev. H. Nieuwenhuis, the 
Rev. T. J. McCluskey, S. J., the Rev. Fidelis Speidel, C. SS. R., 
the Rev. Joseph L. McCabe, O. C. C, the Rev. Capistran Claude, 
O. M. Cap., and the Rev. T. McMillan, C S. P. 

To Confer with Laity — The Rev. Dr. D. J. McMahon, chair- 
man; the Rev. J. P. Chidwick, the Rev. J. D. Lennon and the 
Rev. J. H. Dooiey. 

Music — The Very Rev. Monsignor Lammel, chairman; the 
Rev. E. M. Sweeny, the Rev. J. A. Kellner and the Rev. M. J. 
Fitzpatrick. 

Parade of Catholic Societies — The Right Rev. Monsignor 
Mooney, V. G., P. A., chairman; the Rev. Peter Farrell, the 
Rev. Thomas F. Gregg, the Rev. George T. Donlin, the Rev. 
W. H. Murphy, the Rev. Dr. D. F. X. Burke, the Rev. Joseph 
H. McMahon, the Rev. P. E. McCorry, the Rev. J. S. Braun, the 
Rev. D. H. O'Dwyer, the Rev. T. F. Murphy, the Rev. Otto 
Strack, the Rev. J. R. Meagher, O. P., the Rev. M. P. Smith, 
C. S. P., the Rev. J. J. Hughes, C. S. P., the Rev. Bernardine 
Polizzo, O. F. M., the Rev. Arthur Letellier, S. S. S., the Rev. 
Bernard Kevenhoerster, O. S. B., and the Rev. E. G. Dohan, 
O. S. A. 

THE LAY COMMITTEES. 

Invitations — John G. Agar, chairman; John E. Alexandre, 
M. C. Bouvier, James Byrne, Gerald Borden, James D. Carney, 
Royal Phelps Carroll, R. F. Collier, Martin J. Condon, Frederic 
R. Coudert, John Crane, D. C. Connell, Henry M. Connolly, 
John J. Deery, John T. Doolings, Pedro De Florez, J. Rhine- 
lander Dillon, Eric Dahlgren, Charles H. Duffy, Edward P. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 7 

Finney, Thomas L. Feitner, John Farley, George J. Gillespie, 
Joseph P. Grace, Robert J. Hoguet, Auterbridge Horsey, jr., 
Ernest Iselin, Charles Jones, Edward L. Keyes, jr., Dr. Joseph 
J. Kuhn, Dr. A. M. Leon, John B. Mayo, Charles L. Montant, 
Thomas M. Mulry, Dr. J. B. McCaffrey, Arthur McAleenan, Dr. 
John B. McCaffrey, Thomas McCarthy, William H. Mclntyre, 
Dr. Dennis McDonald, William H. Morgan, John Murphy, 
Augustus Noel, Alfonso De Navarro, James Naughton, J. C. 
Neiser, John J. O'Donohue, George C. Poirier, Henry J. Ryan, 
John Jerome Rooney, W. J. Spain, James Spellman, Theodore 
E. Tack, Dr. Francis L. Toomy, Emile Vatable, J. E. Ward, 
Louis Wat j en and Henry Collins Walsh. 

Parade — E. J. McGuire, chairman; Raymond F. Almirall, 
Alfred Amy, Eugene L. Barnard, Nicholas J. Garrett, Thomas 
Brady, Thomas J. Brady, William E. Burke, Edward J. Butler, 
P. Vincent Butler, Joseph Brunner, P. F. Brunner, John J. 
Byrne, Daniel E. Cohalan, Hugh G. Connell, Louis M. Connolly, 
William H. Corbett, L. D. Conley, Edward J. Cornells, Thomas 
Crimmins, Frank P. Cunnion, John A. Davidson, Dr. Joseph A. 
Dillon, Thomas C. Dougherty, James P. Dougherty, John F. 
Doyle, John F. Doyle, jr., Nathaniel Doyle, James L. Du Vivier, 
Charles P. Doelger, Charles Early, Joseph Early, Aloysius 
Eisner, John J. Falahee, Stephen Farrelly, Austin Finegan, 
Thomas Fitzsimmons, James Fitzpatrick, Frank S. Gannon, 
Philip Gaynor, Colonel Joseph A. Goulden, Charles J. Hardy, 
John A. Henneberry, Edward V. Holland, Edward Hassett, 
Thomas C. Innd, John J. Kelly, Roderick J. Kennedy, George 
E. Kilgore, Hugh King, Percy J. Kling, William R. King, 
Alphonse G. Koelble, Peter A. Lalor, James D. Lynch, Dr. John 
B. Lynch, James Lynch, Harry I. Meehan, Thomas F. McAvoy, 



8 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

John Henry McAleenan, William McKiever, Joseph Mulqueen, 
T. J. Murray, William P. Myhan, W. P. McGinley, Arthur G. 
O'Keefe, Joseph J. O'Donohue, Louis V. O'Donohue, Thomas 
J. O'Donohue, Francis O'Connor, John G, O'Keeffe, Francis 
O'Neill, John O'Sullivan, Hugh O'Donohue, John J. Phelan, 
John J. Pulleyn, J. J. Quigley, Clarence Ramsey, P. J. Scully, 
Frank W. Smith, Dennis A. Spellisey, Albert Steinlein, Alfred 
J. Talley, John M. Tierney, James M. Tully, Louis M. Thiery, 
August Thiery, Richard L. Walsh and John B. White. 

Programme — Dr. Francis J. Quinlan, chairman; Richard 
Baker, John J. Boyle, William M. Byrne, P. J. Carlin, Thomas 
F. Conway, Thomas J. Colton, William E. Clare, Dr. Charles 
Chetwood, Charles L. Du Vivier, Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, 
Colonel J. D. Emmett, Dr. George Edebohls, Joseph H. Fargis, 
Joseph Frey, Dr. Jose M. Ferrer, P. Griffin, W. Russell Grace, 
Dr. J. A. Hoffheimer, William H. Hurst, Charles N. Harris, 
William L. Harris, William E. Iselin, Henry L. Joyce, Eugene 
Kelly, Edward L. Keyes, sr., Roland F. Knoedler, Maurice La 
Montagne, Joseph Liebertz, Dr. James Lee, Robert McGinnis, 
John McAnerney, Constantine McGuire, James McGovern, Dr. 
John J. McGrane, Dr. John T. McCafferty, Joseph J. McHugh, 
W. T. McManus, Michael T. Mannion, Jose F. de Navarro, 
Harold H. O'Connor, William P. O'Connor, William C. Orr, 
Thomas S. O'Brien, M. J. O'Brien, William Paine, James J. 
Phelan, Joseph T. Ryan, John C. Sheehan and Daniel F. Treacy, 

Reception — John Fox, chairman; J. Henry Alexander, Dr. 
Edward Aspell, Walter A. Burke, John J. Barry, John Burke, 
Thomas F. Byrnes, P. F. Collier, Henry Campbell, John D. 
Crimmins, jr., Edward Connell, John F. Carroll, J. J. Coogan, 
Thomas E. Crimmins, James Cunnion, Francis B. Delahunty, 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 9 

John P. Dunn, Joseph J. Dillon, Dr. John Dwycr, George Ehret, 
jr., E. D. Farrel, John Flanagan, F. J. Hogan, John Hayes, 
Forbes J. Hennessy, Francis Higgins, Francis B. Hoffman, J. 
Henry Hagerty, Thomas J. Higgins, Bryan L. Kennelly, P. 
Kiernan, Charles F. Murphy, Dr. Peter Murray, John Mahoney, 
John Morgan, Joseph McAleenan, Michael Mulqueen, William 
P. Mitchell, P. C. Meehan, Robert E. McDonald, Miles M. 
O'Brien, John F. O'Brien, Daniel O'Connell, Thomas J. O'Neill, 
W. F. Plunkett, John J. Quinlan, George F. Roesch, John A. 
Ryan, Allan A. Ryan, Edward J. Scott, Michael Sheehy, Edward 
C. Sheehy, John Slattery, Vincent J. Slattery and George L. 
Sterling. 

Speakers — Eugene A. Philbin, chairman; Edward B. Amend, 
Dr. John Aspell, John J. Brady, John V. Bouvier, Louis B. 
B'nsse, W. Bourke Cockran, Joseph E. Corrigan, Richard R. 
Costello, Joseph H. Day, John J. Delany, Victor J. Dowling, 
James Fitzgerald, Charles V. Fornes, Paul Fuller, George H. 
Fearons, Leonard A. Giegerich, John W. Goff, Charles G. Her- 
bermann, Charles G. Hendricks, Henry W. Herbert, James G. 
Johnson, John D. Kernan, Richard P. Lydon, William Lummis, 
David McClure, George D. Mackay, Patrick F. McGowan, E. 
E. McCall, Thomas F. Murtha, James W. O'Brien, E. J. O'Brien, 
James J. O'Gorman, Thomas C. O'Sullivan, Conde B. Pallen, 
Lorenzo Semple, Edward P. Slevin, M. J. Scanlan, Charles W. 
Sloane, C. J. Sullivan, Andrew J. Shipman, Dr. James J. Walsh, 
Thomas F. Woodlock and Schuyler Warren. 

Finance — Herman Ridder, chairman; Louis H. Amy, Michael 
E. Bannin, James Butler, Lawrence J. Callanan, John D. Crim- 
mins, Cornelius Callahan, Peter Doelger, M. J. Drummond, 
James Devlin, Andrew Davey, George Ehret, John J. Friel, 



io THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

James A. Farley, Thomas A. Gardiner, Hugh J. Grant, Henri 
Gourd, C. Geoghegan, Henry Heide, Adrian Iselin, Hugh Kelly, 
Thomas Kelly, George W. Loft, Thomas McCarthy, Auguste 
P. Montant, Jules A. Montant, Henry Maillard, Clarence Mackay, 
John B. Manning, William A. MacMahon, Henry McAleenan, 
John F. O'Rourke, M. J. O'Brien, Edward Rafter, Thomas F. 
Ryan, John J. Radley, William F. Sheehan, Myles Tierney, Jules 
Vatable, Patrick Ward and John Whalen. 

"IS CHRISTIANITY A FAILURE?" 
It was Gibbon who observed that the real strength of the 
Catholic body was the "blind" adherence of the multitude to its 
mystical doctrines and its priesthood, and later Macaulay de- 
clared that the secret of its great power was its "wonderful or- 
ganization." At such a joyful period in the history of Catholicity 
in New York it is natural that attention should be directed to 
Archbishop Farley, the representative of that power in this city. 
He has governed the Church here since the death of Archbishop 
Corrigan, and that he was the choice of the priests and the 
Bishops of the province to succeed Archbishop Corrigan is suffi- 
cient evidence of his ability as an administrator. He is not yet 
sixty years old and is in splendid health. A moment's conversa- 
tion with him reveals a man of simple habits, with a firm convic- 
tion that his Church is God's Church and that the world is grad- 
ually coming to look upon it as such. 

It was in just such a mood the writer found His Grace, sev- 
eral days ago, at the episcopal residence in Madison avenue. He 
was pleased to know that The Tribune had taken account of the 
importance of a century of Catholic activity, and reminded his 
visitor that he had been reading The Tribune for twenty-five 
years. That was encouraging. The reporter knows no fear in 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. n 

the presence of an "old subscriber," let his raiment be purple or 
black. Would the "old subscriber" give the reporter the benefit 
of his vision of the Catholic Church in New York City a century 
hence ? It was a long road to travel. Many years before his death 
Cardinal Newman accomplished the task with ease and rare good 
taste. That Prelate pictured for a body of Irishmen, in language 
beautiful and precise, the condition of Ireland "a hundred years 
hence," and from that day to this those now famous lines, "I 
see a country/' have been repeated in church and hall by fervid 
laymen and young clerics in English speaking countries the 
world over. The Archbishop had, therefore, a precedent, and 
one that was not clouded by the spectre of mitred Lords or a 
disinterested Commons. Moreover, he had something upon 
which to build his hopes. The seed sown a hundred years ago 
in old Manhattan had been fruitful beyond the expectation of 
the most sanguine. The scattered mission of a century ago was 
now a compact and noble body. Yes, he would put in words his 
view of the Catholic body in New York years hence. 

"The future is encouraging," he said. "Our Church will be 
more successful than ever. The people have come to believe 
that the truth will prevail. The truth must prevail. The present 
flourishing condition of the Catholic Church in this town was 
brought about by the self-sacrifice of early missionaries and the 
never faltering zeal of their successors, the first Bishops and priests 
of the diocese. During the few years of my administration I 
have baptized and received into the Church numerous men and 
women. The present average of conversions is five thousand a 
year. Our gains in the future will not be less. The people are 
steadily drifting to the old faith. Why? Because of its founda- 
tions. It was founded on a rock that has resisted the ravages 



12 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

of time, war and novelty, which have worked the ruin of every 
human institution. It never changes." 

Asked what agencies he considered the most effective in 
strengthening the Church numerically, the Archbishop said: 

"The three causes that have made for the growth of the 
Church in the past are still active and will always prove fruitful. 
These are: First, natural increase, which among our Catholic 
people is decidedly marked because of their profound reverence 
for the sanctity of the family life — the root of society. That 
which is proving many a country's curse and many a people's 
shame is rarely found among them. Secondly, immigration will 
bring to our shores for generations to come large accessions 
from Catholic countries, and from whatever land they may hail 
they are all dear to the Church, and will be cherished by this 
alma mater of the nations. As you see in this cosmopolitan 
city, there is haidly a race on earth for which she has not 
provided churches and schools in the most crowded as in the 
most select quarters of the town. Third, conversions bring a 
large increase yearly to the fold. This is a source of the Church's 
expansion little studied and less known. 

"But there is another agency that, in its own quiet way, has 
been more effective than any. I refer to the army of young 
women employed as servants throughout this great city. You 
may not understand why it should be so, but it is a fact that the 
girls, our Catholic domestics, God bless them, are a powerful 
agency in the conversion of non-Catholics. Their fidelity to 
those who employ them, their splendid devotion to the faith of 
their fathers and their clean lives leave a deep impression. In- 
deed, our Church owes much to that army of servants." 

The approaching celebration was next "What was its mean- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 13 

ing to the Catholics of the city, its significance to non-Catholics ?" 
He said: 

"One thing the centennial celebration, with its presentation 
of the vast expansion of the Catholic Church in our midst, will 
place in high relief before the world is that she is not the child 
of any particular clime or age; that she flourishes, is as prolific 
and is a force as strong for civilization in the twentieth as in 
any century of her long and checkered history. 'Go teach all 
nations' was her commission, and she still fulfils it as valiantly 
as in the days of the Apostles. The centennial will answer 
with no uncertain voice the question so often on the lips of the 
scoffer, 'Is Christianity a failure?* " 

There are two subjects upon which His Grace does not 
hesitate to make public his opinions — the integrity of the home 
and the power of the parochial school system. His views on the 
divorce question have been frequently mentioned in the press, 
and there is no need here to dwell further on them except to 
say that he is irrevocably opposed to divorces. He told the 
writer that were there nothing else to prove the indissolubility 
of the marriage tie the words "until death" used in the Catholic 
ceremony should be argument enough for any man or woman. 
Because of his inflexible views on divorce the Archbishop will 
not marry a Catholic and a Protestant. He makes no exception 
to that rule. 

"I permit my priests to marry Catholics and Protestants, but 
there is no reason why I should lend the dignity of my holy 
office to a union which may be severed at any time by our 
courts. When I was a young Bishop the local courts dissolved 
a Catholic marriage, blessed by my predecessor, and on that day 
I made up my mind I should never allow myself to marry a 



i 4 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Catholic and a non-Catholic, and I never shall. Our divorce 
laws are nothing short of an attack on the Christian home." 

The fireside and the school are easily associated. His Grace 
is proud of the parochial school system, and declared that, at 
least in the Archdiocese of New York, it was now as efficient 
as any elementary educational institution in the country. 

"There is an erroneous idea abroad concerning our schools," 
he said. "By many they are supposed to be established for 
religious instruction. That is not the only excuse for their ex- 
istence, though it is not denied that our children are there 
taught the essentials of the Catholic faith, that they may be its 
standard bearers. The parochial system is in the hands of ex- 
perienced educators, and every school throughout the archdiocese 
is rigidly investigated, from time to time, by the board of in- 
spectors. 

"The Church has encountered opposition within the fold, 
even when the necessity of such a system became obvious. Even 
now there are some persons opposed to it, but happily the good 
work accomplished, the extensiveness of the system and the 
splendid school buildings are sufficient argument against all 
strictures. Our people want Catholic schools. Thirty-eight new 
parochial schools, with an attendance of fourteen thousand, have 
been added to our school system in the last five years. We 
shall go on improving our schools from year to year and 
building high schools while there is room for a single improve- 
ment." 

Of the numerous tributes from non-Catholics, printed in The 
Tribune's supplement, several are reprinted here, the first 
from William Winter, the second from the late lamented Dr. 
Dix, of old Trinity. Neither of those require a word of 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 15 

introduction or eulogy from the writer. William Winter has 
been The Tribune's dramatic critic for forty-two years, and he 
is, without a doubt, one of the very few living men of letters 
writing English with the purity and beauty that characterize the 
works of Gibbon, Macaulay, Cardinal Newman, etc. His 
"Ancient Glories" appears in the introductory pages to this record 
of days. 

The Rev. Dr. Morgan A. Dix inherited goodness and all 
its attributes from an illustrious American family. The City of 
New York was the better for his living in it. A zealous priest, 
a courageous citizen, a broad and saintly character — his mem- 
ory will not soon be forgotten. When asked by The Tribune 
to express his views of the Catholic Church and its influence 
for good in the community, he wrote : 
To the Editor of The Tribune. 

Sir: I have pleasure in sending, through you, to our 
Roman Catholic friends in this city some word of congratula- 
tion on the occasion of an approaching anniversary in the history 
of their diocese. I am not familiar with the circumstances of 
the event which they will commemorate, but it suffices to know 
that it is one which fixes their attention and inspires them 
with happy and grateful thoughts. 

It is, therefore, in order for others to say that we sympathize 
with them in their rejoicings and offer them our best wishes. 
Personally, it is a satisfaction to express the interest with which 
I have regarded the position and work of their Church in this 
vast and confusing metropolis. It is also a pleasure to recall 
the names of many men of prominence in that communion, whom 
in past years I have had the privilege of numbering among 
my acquaintances and friends — men who have passed from 



16 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

stations which they adorned to seats where they are now at 
rest in the Lord. 

Of such were Archbishop Hughes, renowned alike for his 
learning and ability as Prelate, his power and wide influence as 
a statesman and his loyalty to the national cause in the dark- 
est hour of our history, and Cardinal McCloskey,. a gracious 
gentleman and a pattern of virtues, beloved and honored by 
all. Of such among jurists were Chief Justice Charles R. 
Daly and Judge James T. Brady, of whom my recollections 
are delightful, to which names let me add those of another 
dear friend, the illustrious scholar and savant, Henry James 
Anderson, and that brilliant ornament of the New York Bar, 
Mr. Coudert. 

I make no mention here of others still living whose friendly 
intercourse has not yet been broken by the advancing steps 
of inexorable death. As for the religious body of which these 
good people were and are members, I regard it as a great, 
conservative power, acting as a barrier against the disorganizing 
and revolutionary movements of the day, and standing for 
law and authority, for the truth of the supernatural order 
on which this lower order depends, for the value of clear, 
dogmatic teaching as the necessary basis of good morals, and 
for the vitalizing power of divine grace applied through the 
Holy Sacraments; and I daily pray for all, whatever be their 
style or title among us, who do what they can to resist the 
tremendous pressure of the irregular and experimental activities 
of our time and to endeavor to save Christian civilization from 
subversion and society from chaos. 

I remain, very truly yours, MORGAN DIX. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 17 

FROM A DISTINGUISHED RABBI. 

The centenary of the Catholic diocese in this city 
is an epochal event. It appeals to our sense of his- 
torical perspective and to our appreciation of the fac- 
tors that make for the upbuilding of our country. 

One hundred years ago this nation was still in its 
infancy. Republican form of government was still 
regarded as a precarious experiment. Those sturdy 
men from Ireland's shore who adopted our flag and 
our Constitution and assimiliated with American 
ideals have added to the brain and brawn of the land 
and have become part of the warp and woof of our 
country's progress. They fought in our wars, they 
labored in our peace for the integrity of the nation, 
for the strength of its government, for the majesty of 
its laws, for the glory of its flag. 

The young, promising Catholic Church of a cen- 
tury ago has grown into a powerful diocese whose 
ramifications in this city, touching the young, the 
adolescent and the old, in a thousand different ways, 
are so many propagators of higher manhood and 
womanhood. 

This organic Vicar of Heaven is the city's ally, 
enlisted, as are other religious bodies, in its crusade 
against the darkness of ignorance and superstitution 
and the thick darkness of error and sin. It is a light- 
house to many thousands, aye, millions, who, guided 
by it, avoid the dreaded rocks of spiritual destruction. 
A great responsibility rests on those who tend this 
light that points the way for so many from despair 



i8 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

to joy, from death to life. 

Our heartiest felicitations to this Catholic hier- 
archy, to its clergy and its laity. May the great dome 
that marks this centennial be only the foundation 
stone of a still greater cathedral. The stone which 
the builders rejected has become one of the chief 
cornerstones of the Lord's house. 

JOSEPH SILVERMAN. 

BISHOP GREER'S TRIBUTE. 
To the Editor of The Tribune. 

Sir : Permit me to extend, through the columns 
of your paper, my hearty congratulations to the 
Roman Catholic Church in this city upon the good 
and successful work which has been accomplished by 
it during the past one hundred years and since it be- 
came an independent diocese. During that time it 
has always made its influence very strongly felt in be- 
half of good morals and good citizenship, and has 
done much to promote the general public welfare, as 
well as to minister, through its numerous charities, 
its hospitals, homes, asylums and other philanthropic 
institutions, to the comfort and the relief of the sick 
and the destitute and the other unfortunate members 
of the community. Believe me, very sincerely yours, 

DAVID H. GREER. 

In response to requests from the compiler and editor of this 
little volume many American Prelates sent greetings to the Arch- 
bishop and his people, and His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, took 
occasion to congratulate The Tribune for its special appreciation 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 19 

of the importance of the centennial. The Apostolic Delegate, 
Monsignor Falconio, who represented the Vatican at the cere- 
monies, dictated the following message, with which this chapter 
will be closed: 

APOSTOLIC DELEGATE REJOICES. 

The centenary of the establishment of the Diocese 
of New York marks in great lines the progress of the 
Catholic Church in the United States. 

When His Holiness Pope Pius VII, on April 8, 
1808, signed the bull for its erection and assigned to 
it as its territory the whole State of New York and 
the eastern part of New Jersey contiguous to New 
York, perhaps he never imagined that a diocese which 
then had only one church, three or four priests and 
a few thousand Catholics would in the period of one 
hundred years have grown to such an extent as to 
comprise within its limits a number of flourishing 
dioceses, thousands of priests, millions of Catholics 
and every kind of educational and charitable institu- 
tion. 

. This extraordinary development, perhaps un- 
equalled in the history of the Church, has rendered 
New York, the metropolis of the United States, one 
of the greatest strongholds of the Catholic Church in 
the world. Hence, on this solemn occasion it truly 
claims our admiration and our best congratulations. 
It is also a source of great consolation to observe the 
still brighter prospect which the diocese promises for 
the future. This hopeful expectation is engendered 
in us by the zeal of the illustrious prelate who at 



20 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

present presides over its destiny, by the well known 
doctrine and spirit of self-abnegation of the clergy 
and religious communities, by the faith and gener- 
osity of the people, and by that unity of thought and 
action which binds them all, in obedience, reverence 
and love, to the Pope, the supreme pastor of Christ's 
divine church. 

Consequently, our Holy Father, the Pope, Pius X, 
cannot but be highly pleased at the progress which 
the diocese has made and at the bright prospect which 
it promises for the future. 

D. FALCONIO, Apostolic Delegate. 







(Copyright, by E. F. Foley.) 
HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL LOGQE. 
Archbishop of Armagh c.nd Primate of All Ireland. 



CHAPTER II. 

AN IRISH CARDINAL ARRIVES OFF SANDY 

HOOK. 



(Sunday, April 26, 1908.) 

Ireland's first Bishop and only Cardinal — Logue of Armagh — 
is here ! He arrived yesterday on the Cunarder Lucania and 
brought with him, under the red robe, what he could not leave 
behind — a beautiful simplicity and a cheery disposition. There 
are cunning souls in the great Catholic body, but the Prelate 
from Armagh is not one of them. A more unpretentious person 
could scarcely be imagined. The first impression is almost con- 
clusive, for his face, his eyes, his large, sloping forehead are 
all indicative of a man of knowledge and ability. He understands. 
That is enough for him. If other persons can perceive no special 
talent in him, he will not, could not, impress them with his 
importance. 

Not more than five feet and a half in height, with a visible 
stoop, gray, closely cropped hair, a ruddy, oval face and blue 
eyes — the Irish Cardinal is a Gaelic edition of Hugo's simple 
Prelate portrayed in "Les Miserables." His "venerableness" 
has been frequently alluded to in the sketches that have been 

21 



22 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

published from time to time. If that word were used as a 
compliment to general appearance it was not well chosen, for 
it may be reasonably questioned whether there is a younger 
man in all Ireland than Cardinal Logue, of Armagh. He has 
seen sixty-seven years, and those who had the pleasure of 
meeting him yesterday will tell you that he could still umpire 
a football game or settle a point in cricket. 

Cardinal Logue comes here to participate this week in the 
ceremonies of the centenary of Catholic activity, and on Tuesday 
morning will be the celebrant of pontifical mass of thanksgiving 
at St. Patrick's Cathedral, when he will be surrounded by the 
entire hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States, 
headed by Cardinal Gibbons. 

The Lucania, on which he was a passenger, was stuck in 
a heavy fog yesterday for ten hours, and did not reach her 
pier until late in the afternoon. The Cardinal, however, was 
taken aboard the steamer Isabel while the big liner was 
steaming into Quarantine. A numerous company of the clergy 
and laity, including Monsignor McCready, Monsignor Hayes, 
the Rev. D. J. MacMackin, Monsignor McGean, the Rev. J. E. 
Lewis, the Rev. C. P. Cassidy, E. J. McGuire, Roderick J. 
Kennedy, Charles Murray, Frank P. Cunnion, Andrew J. 
Shipman, George Lavelle and Patrick McKiernan, boarded the 
Isabel at Pier A at 6 o'clock yesterday morning, and the boys' 
band from the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin entertained 
them on the way out. 

As soon as the Lucania hove in sight the band struck up 
"The Wearin' o' the Green," and, a few moments later, the 
figure of the Irish Cardinal was seen on the starboard of the 
Cunarder. A rousing cheer went up from those on the Isabel 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 23 

and was sent back by the passengers on the Lucania, who had 
gathered about the distinguished visitor. Archbishop Farley 
went aboard the Lucania, and the greeting between the Primate 
of Ireland and the American prelate of the greatest Catholic 
diocese in the New World was affectionate — was that of devoted 
brothers in a common cause. At that moment the band played 
"The Star Spangled Banner," and the welcoming party sang it 
with patriotic feeling. The visitor showed no unfriendly attitude 
toward American newspaper men, and they were there, an even 
dozen of them. 

"I am glad to meet you, gentlemen," was the Cardinal's 
greeting. "This is my first visit to America, and I'm sure I 
shall carry back with me a deep and lasting impression of the 
greatness of your land." To a reporter for The Tribune he 
said. 

"You may say for me, in your own way, that I am very 
happy to be here in this great city on such a festive occasion. 
I am proud of the opportunity to unite with the Catholics of New 
York in giving thanks for the work that has been accomplished. 
When your good Archbishop visited me some years ago I 
promised him I should try to get here. Now I am here. I am 
to sing the mass of thanksgiving in the Cathedral. That is 
an honor. You might also say that I am proud to know that 
my fellow-countrymen and countrywomen are loyal to the faith 
of their fathers." 

Asked about conditions in his country, the Cardinal said that 
in the South of Ireland there were scores of young girls and 
women out of work, especially in Dublin. 

"I really believe that you in this country could help us by 
a revision of your tariff," he continued. "Numerous merchants 



24 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

complain that they cannot export their products to America 
at a reasonable profit. They would be encouraged and work 
would be provided for some at least were tariff restrictions 
less severe." 

The Cardinal is not an enthusiastic optimist on the Home 
Rule question. Neither the clamor of the mob nor the apparent 
virtue of the sedate will force him from a position, once he 
has taken it. He is of that class of Irishmen which believe that 
Ireland will not govern herself in the near future. 

"The prospect of the Irish people governing themselves is 
remote, but not wholly improbable,'* he said. "I do not foresee 
my country, at any near day, free and independent. Mind you, 
I do not say that Home Rule will not come — I say that I do 
not think it will come soon. I hope for such a day — but then 
we in Ireland have been so hoping for many years." 

"Is Ireland, at the present moment, capable of governing 
itself?" he was asked. 

"The answer to that is that a people that can govern its 
county limitations is not doing so badly. Given an opportunity, 
I think Irishmen could make their own laws and enforce them." 

Speaking of the Irish Parliamentary party, he said that it 
would be necessary to continue sending that body to the House 
of Commons; that it had accomplished much and should be 
encouraged. 

"The representatives of Ireland in the English Commons 
are doing the best they can," he said. "And they get nothing 
for it. By hard fighting they have secured measures that have 
been beneficial. They deserve the support of Irishmen in 
America." 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 25 

FROM THE BLACK CASSOCK TO THE RED ROBE. 

The Irish Cardinal came here in fulfilment of a promise 
made two years ago to Archbishop Farley, when that prelate 
was visiting his native land. The Archbishop reminded the 
aged Cardinal that the great diocese of New York was named 
in honor of the patron saint of the Irish, the saint who was the 
first Bishop of Armagh. 

"If God spares me, I'll be with you and your people in 1908," 
the Cardinal replied. When the celebration was definitely ar- 
ranged the Cardinal was formally invited, and he promptly 
accepted. In view of the interest his presence will excite, a 
brief sketch of his career may not be found amiss. 

He was born sixty-nine years ago in the parish of Carrigart, 
County Donegal, and entered old Maynooth College in 1857. 
His course in that famous institution extended over eight years. 
After finishing the usual collegiate courses, he was sent to the 
Dunboyne establishment, in 1865, and was ordained there the 
year following. Later he was sent to the Irish College at Paris 
to fill the chair of dogmatic theology. He remained there eight 

years, and in 1874 was recalled by Dr. McDevitt, then Bishop of 
Raphoe. 

The young priest had had no practical experience in parochial 
work, and his bishop ordered him to a curacy in a rural parish 
of Kilkenny. The scene of his labors in those days rejoices 
in the name of Glenswilly. Glenswilly was to Father Logue 
what the bleak mountainside of Ulster was to St. Patrick, a 
school in which he acquired the missionary spirit by the per- 
formance of his priestly functions among the needy and the 
afflicted. 

After two years in that field he was called to be dean of 
his alma mater, Maynooth. Still later he was made professor 



26 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

of theolog}^, and in 1879 was the choice of the parish priests 
to succeed Dr. McDevitt as Bishop of Raphoe. He was con- 
secrated in the old Cathedral of Letterkenny on July 20 of the 
same year. 

In 1887 Dr. McGettigan, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate 
of All Ireland, was seriously ill, and asked for a coadjutor. 
Bishop Logue was appointed, with right of succession. On 
December 3 of that year Dr. McGettigan died, and his coadjutor 
became the Archbishop and Primate. Leo XII I., in 1893, created 
him a Cardinal. He is the first Primate of historic Armagh to be 
so singularly honored. The notable achievement of his ad- 
ministration was the completion of Ireland's national Cathedral. 
That imposing edifice was begun in 1846 by Archbishop Crolly, 
the first Catholic prelate to make his home in Armagh after 
the persecution of those of his faith. In a recent history of 
Maynooth College, a writer pays the following tribute to Cardinal 
Logue : 

"The most striking feature of his character is his genuine 
and great humility. Rarely, indeed, has so humble a man occupied 
so high a position. The man}' honors that have been conferred 
on him, the singular eminence he has attained in the Irish 
Church, the great, widespread popularity he enjoys, seem only 
to have enlarged and deepened this beautiful trait in his character. 
Combined with this humility, ever necessary, to real greatness, 
the Cardinal possesses a frank and amiable manner, a courage 
that knows no fear when the interests of religion or country 
are threatened, and a prudence in which the wisdom of the 
serpent is happily blended with the simplicity of the dove." 

On the way up to the city, a delegation from the County 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 27 

Louth Association presented the following address to the Car- 
dinal : 
'To His Eminence, Cardinal Logue, Primate of All Ireland — 

Illustrious Son of Beloved Ireland: 

"Your fellow-men and women in America, from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, take this opportunity to salute you and say with 
all the earnest intensity that springs from the Irish heart: 'Caed 
Mille Failte/ 

"The glorious Catholic centenary celebration in which you 
have come to participate may in truth be said to embrace more 
than a century of American progress, or rather Irish-American 
progress — notably Irish-American in its every stage of develop- 
ment from the time the last surviving signer of the Declaration 
of Independence — Charles Carroll of Carrollton — in the Catholic 
colory of America, set his hand and seal on that grand charter 
of liberty. 

"The thirty-two counties of Ireland are united to-day in 
honor of your Eminence — united as they ever ought to be. This 
committee representing County Louth has the honor to be sent 
to welcome you, by the good people of your own county and 
your home parish, the memories of which are dear to their 
hearts, and the recollections of some reach back to the time, half 
a century ago, when your revered predecessor, the Most Rev. Dr. 
Dixon, occupied the See of Patrick. 

"With love and reverence we respectfully remain 
"MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY LOUTH ASSOCIATIONS 

The steamer Isabel took the party to Fiftieth street and the 
North River, and from there the Cardinal was escorted to the 
Archbishop's house, in Madison avenue, by the boys' band and 
the Armagh P. and B. Association. 



28 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

While the public ceremonies of the centenary will not begin 
until Tuesday morning, there will be special rejoicing to-day 
in all the Catholic churches, and at least seventy thousand lay- 
men in all parts of the archdiocese will receive communion at the 
early masses. There will be a solemn mass at the Cathedral, 
and the Archbishop will preach. To-morrow the visiting 
clergymen from all parts of the country will reach the city. 
Monsignor Falconio will represent the Vatican at the ceremonies. 

Every Catholic home throughout the city has been decorated 
with flags and bunting in honor of the festivities. Pope Pius X. 
has sent a special communication to Archbishop Farley that 
will be made public on Tuesday. Monsignor Bruchesi, of Mon- 
treal, will represent Canada at the ceremonies. 



CHAPTER III. 

A MILLION CATHOLICS GIVE THANKS FOR A 
CENTURY OF FRUITFUL ACTIVITY. 



(Monday, April 27.) 

More than a million Catholics, scattered the length and 
breadth of the Archdiocese of New York — the Irish and the 
Scotch, Germans and French, Hungarians and Poles, the Greek 
and the Bohemian, the picturesque people of the old Syrian 
nation and those from equally ancient lands, the rich and the 
poor, the East Side and the West Side, all unified by the faith 
of their fathers and proud of the land of their adoption — 
gathered yesterday in the numerous parish churches within the 
jurisdiction of Archbishop Farley and gave thanks for the 
progress the Catholic religion has made here since its formal 
establishment a hundred years ago. That thanksgiving was the 
beginning of a week's rejoicing in honor of the centenary that will 
be made memorable by imposing ceremonies to-morrow morning 
at St. Patrick's Cathedral and a procession on Saturday of more 
than forty thousand laymen. 

The details of the celebration have already been outlined in 
The Tribune. The grateful prayers of yesterday were parochial. 

29 



3 o THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

To-morrow there will be a public and a common offering in the 
name of every Catholic man, woman and child of the archdiocese, 
and it will be sent up in their behalf by the distinguished visitor 
to this country, Cardinal Logue, of Armagh. Yesterday's 
thanksgiving consisted of special masses and the reception of the 
Communion by fully seventy thousand persons in the archdiocese. 
The rectors in charge delivered appropriate remarks, reminding 
Catholics of the present day that the things that are are the fruits 
of the struggles of the early missionaries. 

The centre of interest, of course, was the Cathedral, and 
there, at n o'clock, Monsignor M. J. Lavelle, rector, was the 
celebrant of a solemn mass and the Archbishop was the preacher. 
Cardinal Logue, attired in the red robe, occupied the Arch- 
bishop's throne. The interior of the Cathedral has been decorated 
with the Papal colors, and the American flag is swinging in the 
breeze between the beautiful twin towers of the Gothic pile. 
Every seat was occupied, and nearly all present were the regular 
parishioners of the Cathedral parish. 

Monsignor Sheridan, Vicar General of the Diocese of Erie; 
Monsignor Freri, head of the Propagation of the Faith, and 
Father Michael Quinn, secretary to the Irish prelate, were 
among those in the sanctuary. At the end of the Gospel the 
Archbishop of New York mounted the pulpit, and, in a few 
words, formally welcomed Ireland's representative to this coun- 
try. 

"We have presiding in our sanctuary," he said, "the foremost 
citizen of the island where so many of us found the faith. He is 
welcomed here this morning in my own name and in the name 
of thousands of Catholics for his own sake, and we honor him 
too as the 114th primate in an unbroken succession began 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 31 

1,500 years ago, when his see was founded by the first Bishop of 
Ireland, the patron of our own Cathedral, St. Patrick. The Car- 
dinal Archbishop of Armagh is as welcome here as he is in his 
own beautiful cathedral at home. ,, 

The Archbishop turned to the Cardinal, bowed and said: "A 
hundred thousand welcomes." 

Taking the following text, the Archbishop then delivered an 
eloquent and instructive discourse: 

"And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming 
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for 
her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne, say- 
ing: Behold, the tabernacle of God with men, and He will dwell 
with them. And they shall be His people; and God Himself 
with them shall be their God. 3 ' (Apoc, 2, 3.) 

My Dearly Beloved Brethren: 

"The Diocese of New York has completed the first century 
of her existence. It seems proper that we should pause at 
the threshold of the second century and derive lessons of profit 
for the future by calling "to remembrance the works of the 
fathers, which they have done in their generations/ 

"To-day the Church is adorned as a bride; she wears the 
green laurel of perennial youth, the fitting emblem of a Church 
that is ever young; she is clothed in golden raiment, the symbol 
of the enduring purity of her doctrine; she is aglow with many 
lights, as becomes the abode of the Light of the World; she 
makes these hallowed walls resonant of sweetest music and ex- 
ultant hallelujahs in gratitude to Him from Whom all gifts 
descend, for the manifold blessings vouchsafed to her during 
a hundred years. 



32 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

" 'Thanks be to God Who hath given us the victory through 
our Lord, Jesus Christ. . . . Thee shall my lips praise. ... I will 
give thanks to Thee in a great Church/ 

"To-day the Immaculate Lamb of God has been offered on 
nearly a thousand altars and hundreds of thousands of the 
faithful have partaken of the Bread of Life, and this "clean 
ofTering, ,, this holocaust from the hearts of priests and people, 
has ascended to the throne of the Most High as the most 
suitable, the most acceptable expression of adoration, thanksgiv- 
ing and love. Verily she is the "holy city, the new Jerusalem 
coming down out of Heaven from God." And as I glance over 
those vast numbers gathered around so many altars and made 
one in Holy Communion, as I contemplate this mystic union 
of priesthood and people in the Eucharistic Christ, I hear a 
great voice from the throne saying: 'Behold the tabernacle of 
God with men, and He will dwell with them. And they shall 
be his people and God himself shall be their God/ " 

The Archbishop then described in detail the programme 
of the week's rejoicing. "To-morrow," he said, "in the various 
parish churches, and on Wednesday in this Cathedral, the chil- 
dren will raise their voices in gratitude to supplement and re- 
enforce the prayers of their less pure and less worthy elders. 
On Tuesday this beautiful temple will be honored by the presence 
of many distinguished prelates, some of whom have travelled from 
afar to grace our centennial celebration and share our joy. Here 
will assemble the Cardinal Prince of the Irish, the Cardinal 
Prince of the American Church, Archbishops and Bishops of the 
United States and Canada, and the Apostolic Delegate as the 
representative of the successor of St. Peter — a magnificent demon- 
stration of the one Church under one Head. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 33 

"On Thursday we shall offer a Pontifical Mass for the de- 
ceased prelates and priests of this diocese. They have labored 
and we have entered into their labors. They have borne the 
burden and heat of the day. Their bodies are buried in peace, 
and their name liveth unto generation and generation/ 

"The parade of the laity on the closing day of the week will 
crown our series of celebrations, and will afford all classes of the 
present generation an opportunity to make a splendid public 
profession of their faith and loyalty." 

He then reviewed the history of Catholic progress in this 
State and on this island from the days of the early mission until 
the present. He said : 

"A little more than a hundred years ago, while the country 
was still a colony, and even to the close of the struggle which 
gave liberty and independence to this young nation and opened 
an asylum to the world's willing workers and to the oppressed, 
the religion of Christ, which it is our privilege to possess and 
our pride to profess, was banned and banished wherever it 
ventured to show its head in the land. 

"Although the first legislative Assembly in New York was 
convened by a Catholic Governor, Colonel Dongan, and its first 
act was a Charter of Liberty, it was not until 1874 that a sub- 
sequent Legislature of New York repealed the law of 1700 which 
condemned to perpetual imprisonment any Topish priests and 
Jesuits' found in the colony of New York. By the State con- 
stitution of 1777 Catholics from foreign countries were excluded 
from the rights of citizenship, unless they consented 'to abjure 
and renounce all allegiance and subjection to all and every 
foreign king, prince, potentate and state, in all matters, 
ecclesiastical and civil/ and this oath of allegiance was proscribed 



34 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

for Catholics who sought public office, until it was abrogated as 
a consequence of the agitation begun by the pioneer Catholics of 
old St. Peter's. We have reason to be grateful to our fore- 
fathers who fought so courageously and so successfully for Catho- 
lic interests. 

"A change of conditions in the government of the country 
brought with it, thank God, a change of conditions in the re- 
ligious status of Catholics, who, few and humble as they were, 
had rendered signal services to the nation. The words of the 
immortal Washington after the close of the War of Independence 
stand as a glorious testimony to the loyalty of the people of 
our faith in the land which they have never ceased to live: 'I 
presume that your fellow citizens will not forget the patriotic part 
which you took in the accomplishment of their revolution and 
the establishment of your government ; or, the important as- 
sistance which they received from a nation in which the Roman 
Catholic faith is professed. . . . And may the members of 
your society in America, animated alone by the pure, spirit of 
Christianity, and still conducting themselves as the faithful sub- 
jects of our free government, enjoy every temporal and spiritual 
felicity/ 

"Rrom that hour until now it is beyond the power of even- 
the most malevolent to point a finger at an act or motive that 
would mar the clear record of love of country registered by 
Catholics in the annals of American history. This eminent 
reputation of Catholics as patriotic citizens is not the work of 
accident, but springs from the lofty, sublime principles that 
animate every true son of the Church. That these principles 
might be perpetuated in the land; that they might take deep 
root in the soil most suited for their cultivation, in the hearts 




THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNI 

FIFTH AVENUE IN TH 

PROCESSION OF MA 

(From photo by Aide & 







MARCHING OUT 
CENTENARY 

1908. 
fen.) 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 35 

and souls of the young, the Church, the moment she was at 
liberty to do so, used every effort and made every sacrifice 
to establish Catholic free schools. And perhaps it may not be 
uninteresting to many here — it may be a matter of great surprise 
— to learn that the first free school established in this State 
was St, Peter's school, in Barclay street, which was started 
in 1800, six years in advance of any public school. In those 
days it was a hard struggle for our forefathers even to provide 
the necessaries for public worship, without assuming the added 
burden of the free education of their children. Our people then 
numbered about 16,000 souls in the whole diocese, which em- 
braced the State of New York and a great portion of New Jersey. 
Their means, like those of most of their non-Catholic fellow 
citizens, were limited, with a shade of difference in favor of the 
latter ; they were so poor that they could not maintain one or two 
modest churches and were compelled to appeal for aid to the 
countries of Europe, as well as to their more favored brethren 
who had long preceded them in the Spanish colonies of South 
America. 

"To-day, thank God, we are able, and grateful for the grace of 
being able to do so, to repay our indebtedness more than one 
hundredfold to others, struggling as our forefathers did for the 
propagation and maintenance of the faith. Every year we con- 
tribute $70,000 to aid in spreading the Gospel of Christ among 
the benighted children of the race and in breaking to them the 
Bread of Life. Yes, notwithstanding the very great difficulties 
they had in providing church accommodations, they felt that the 
school was not less necessary, and this principle has animated the 
Church ever since. The reason for this is not far to reach. The 
Church felt, and feels to-day and ever will feel, that her duty to 



36 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

the State is second only to her duty to God, and that, while 
moulding the young heart and mind to love its Creator in the 
days of its youth and teaching children to honor father and 
mother that their days may be long in the land, she is laying deep, 
broad and lasting the foundations of the highest order of citizen- 
ship which the State can demand. 

"The Church knows that there are only two powers that 
govern the world, whether political, social, military or civil, and 
they are authority and obedience. These are two lessons 
which the Church has never failed to inculcate, and she has 
ever insisted that they should be first learned and first prac- 
tised in the home circle, in the presence of those who, as parents, 
represent God to the children. And while the Church has im- 
posed upon children the duty of obedience, she has not failed to 
impress upon parents the responsibility of authority. It is indeed 
the highest and holiest mission given to parents to lead and train 
up children by their twofold influence conferred by God over 
their offspring, for God in His mercy would not leave the parent 
under the burden of such a dread responsibility before Him 
without the aids requisite to fulfil the duties of such an exalted 
office. Hence He gives them a strong bond, He invests both 
children and parents with the natural ties of paternity and 
maternity and the corresponding filial affection, which imply a 
love surpassing, in purity and power, all other earthly loves; and 
in addition to these human relations He gives them the supernat- 
ural grace to carry out the duties of their state of life. 

"Hence the Church feels that when she has made pure and 
holy the fountain of society, the domestic hearth, the family, 
she has a right to expect that the community which is formed 
from the aggregate of the family must of necessity be pure. The 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 37 

stream does not rise higher than its source, and what is found in 
the family must be found in the community at large, and what is 
lacking in the family must be wanting in the body politic. And 
this sacred bond of relationship between parents and children 
flows naturally from the Church's teaching on the indissolubility 
of marriage, the defence of which she has ever maintained at 
every sacrifice. 

"It is thus that the Church serves the State by the incentive 
of her lofty principles of law and order, of authority and obe- 
dience, by the preservation of Christian civilization in all its 
aspects until to-day she stands forth in our midst, after one 
hundred years of unflinching toil, of unyielding principle, of 
undying faith in her divine mission, as the mainstay of social 
order on which the best elements of our citizenship rely for the 
protection of the country against those who would prove its 
ruin by the preaching of the doctrine of destruction. 

"The children's centennial celebration is an inspiring, living 
evidence of the Church's power to solidify and ennoble the es- 
sential elements of society by the sweetest ties that bind the 
human heart. What sacrifices on the part of our Catholic people 
during more than one hundred years are implied in carrying out 
this principle of Catholic education only God can tell. We have 
the material evidence of their zeal in the building up from one 
little church and one humble school a century ago to the full 
measure of development she has attained to-day in this province 
of New York, in its 1,546 churches, 2,710 priests, 583 parochial 
schools with an attendance of 251,383 pupils — all maintained at 
the voluntary expense of our generous and devoted people. 

"Wherefore, my dear brethren, we have invited our friends 
and neighbors to come and rejoice with us because here liberty 



38 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

has spread her beneficent wings over many who were driven from 
their native land, because here in an atmosphere of freedom the 
Church untrammelled has been able to take root and grow in 
strength and beauty and bring forth the best fruits of the Divine 
life within her. On Tuesday, then, we shall greet friends from 
afar, from all parts of the land, who are coming to rejoice with 
us, to render thanks to God for the great things that He who is 
mighty hath done to His handmaid, Holy Church. 

"On Thursday we commemorate the prelates and priests gone 
before us; and, dearly beloved brethren, is it not meet and just 
that we should devote one day to the memory of our pastors who 
in their generation fought the good fight, who kept the faith and 
have long since, we trust, received their crown of righteousness? 
Who will tell the story of all our indebtedness to the noble prel- 
ates and priests, to the valiant, lion-hearted first Archbishop, 
Hughes; to his princely and cultured successor, Cardinal Mc- 
Closkey; to my illustrious, learned and saintly predecessor, Arch- 
bishop Corrigan, and the grand body of noble, self-sacrificing 
priests under them, who in the past century guided the destinies 
of the Church in our midst? Who will describe their privations, 
their humiliations, their disappointments? These in great part 
are hidden with God alone. Who will tell of their labors in the 
crowded tenements, in the confessional, in the journeys to dis- 
tant missions, where these apostolic men were sent by their lead- 
ers, the Bishops, to hold for Christ the far-off outposts, fighting 
solitary and alone, as no earthly champion ever fought, against 
enemies within and without, with no eye but God's to see them, 
no voice but God's to cheer them? And when the day was done 
and evening came, when the battle was fought and the Captain, 
Jesus Christ, called to change the lone guard on the distant out- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 39 

posts, He found His soldier wounded perhaps, blood-stained 
and bruised and darkened with the dust of conflict, but his soul 
white, his honor triumphant, and he himself was at last safe 
harbored in the arms of Jesus for evermore. 

"Such, my dear brethren, were the men of former generations, 
men whom it is our pride to recall, our glory to imitate. It is, 
indeed, most fitting that we should bring back their memories to 
stimulate our tardy endeavors and to supplement our weakness. 
"They were men of great power, men of mercy, whose godly deeds 
have not failed. Good things continue with their seed; their 
posterity is a holy inheritance. Their bodies are buried in peace 
and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Let the 
people show forth their wisdom and the Church declare their 
praise." And, my brethren, what more impressive declaration of 
praise can be given to the memory of our forefathers than a 
public profession of the great principles of that holy faith which 
they labored so strenuously to enroot in our land and which has 
wrought such wonders in our midst, both for the individual and 
for the community at large. Hence we have invited a large body 
of our representative citizens to pass in review in a procession 
we shall have as a tribute to God for His bountiful favors and as 
an evidence of our loyalty and gratitude to the glorious nation 
in whose freedom we have found inspiration, joy, strength and 
progress. 

"This procession of the representative laymen will be the 
crowning celebration of the centennial week. And now, my dear 
brethren, we cannot dismiss this theme without deriving from it 
a practical lesson for the future. 

"We are all heirs of the generations that have gone before us. 
They have labored and we have entered into their labors. They 



40 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

have supplied the wood for the sacrifice and we have sat down 
to the feast; but there is more for us to do. The possession and 
enjoyment of the fruits of their labors beget duties and obliga- 
tions on our part, and if one hundred years hence some one 
stands in the place where I have the privilege of standing and 
others will be seated where you are to-day, if then a like history 
of progress, a history of so much grace poured out upon the gen- 
erations of the past, can be told as we have been striving to tell 
it, then indeed we shall have fought the good fight, we shall have 
kept the faith, we shall have merited the crown of everlasting 
glory. 

"Let us gird ourselves with the teaching and principles of 
Christ, the living Eucharistic God; let us gird outselves with 
resolutions as we kneel in this magnificent monument erected by 
our forefathers to the honor and glory of our holy faith and 
under the title of the patron of a great and faithful race; let us 
make firm resolve never to suffer the world's principles to sever 
us from the altar or from the cross. Tut ye on the armor of 
God. . . . Stand, having your loins girt in truth, and having 
on the breast-plate of justice. ... In all things taking the 
shield of faith wherewith ye may be able to extinguish all the 
fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation 
and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.' " 

He then set forth the duties imposed by the Church upon 
parents and children, and declared that the Catholic Church 
taught that devotion to the State was secondary only to the 
worship of Almighty God. After that he touched on the 
tendency of the age, saying: 

"You all know, my brethren, as I know, that the tendency 
of the age is materialistic; that even some of our own brethren 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 41 

at times have not been proof against this materialistic tendency; 
many have been ready to adopt the world's way, if only they 
might get the world's smile, and have remained indifferent to or 
forgetful of that tender mother who bore them — that mother to 
whom we look to-day with so much pride and gratitude and 
love. 

"Ah ! is it not true to-day that money, even among many who 
profess belief in Christianity, is the law? Is it not confirmed 
by the daily chronicle, sad and shameful as it is, that wealth 
turns to stone the hearts of fathers and mothers, and by 
crushing out Christian principles it tends to annihilate the love 
of children for parents and the love of parents for their off- 
spring, whose future is utterly disregarded, and who not in- 
frequently are left a prey to the caprice of chance, while the 
parents think only of the gratification of the lowest and worst 
passions? This is the crying crime of the age. 

"Be loyal, then, my brethren, to the Church ; loyal to the 
lofty principles, as she has ever inculcated for the good of 
humanity; loyal to the memory and to the godly inheritance 
transmitted by our forefathers; loyal to the country under whose 
free institutions we have flourished. Our fellow citizens look to 
us to be the standard bearers of all that the truest and noblest 
citizenship implies, and they have a right to expect it, because 
we have always claimed that the Church is the true standard 
bearer of the highest civilization." 

At the close of the services Cardinal Logue imparted a 
blessing to the assemblage. In the evening the Cardinal was 
the guest of honor at a dinner given by Archbishop Farley, 
at his house in Madison avenue. Clergymen were the only 
ones present, among them being Monsignors Lavelle, W. G. 



42 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Murphy, McCready, Hayes, Burtsell, McKenna, McGean and 
Vicars General Mooney and Edwards. To-night Cardinal Gib- 
bons, Cardinal Logue, Archbishop Farley, Archbishop Bruchesi, 
of Montreal; Monsignor Falconio and all the members of the 
American hierarchy who will have reached the city will attend 
a dinner at Countess Leary's home in Fifth avenue. 

This morning all the Catholic children in the archdiocese will 
attend a mass of thanksgiving in their respective parishes. The 
rectors will speak to them of the importance of the occasion 
and they will sing during the services. In some of the larger 
parishes, especially at St. Francis Xavier's, in Sixteenth street; 
the Immaculate Conception in East Fourteenth street; the Holy 
Name, the Holy Cross and old St. Patrick's, in Mott street, the 
children will march in procession over the district embraced 
by the parish. 

The Police Department has detailed one hundred and fifty 
police to keep order at the Cathedral to-morrow. It is expected 
there will be an unusual attendance. As already announced, 
Cardinal Logue will be the celebrant of the mass. By virtue 
of his priority in the Sacred College of Cardinals, the American 
Cardinal would have precedence in solemn functions of this 
nature, but Cardinal Gibbons has graciously yielded the honor 
to the distinguished visitor, and Cardinal Logue, invested with 
the insignia of a prince of the Church, will have the first place 
of honor in the procession to-morrow morning, which, in all 
Catholic ceremonies, is the very last. 

Monsignor Edwards will be the assistant priest, Monsignors 
McGean and McCready deacons of honor, the Rev. John A. 
Kellner deacon of the mass and the Rev. R. O. Hughes sub- 
deacon. Monsignor Falconio will be celebrant of pontifical 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 43 

vespers in the evening, at 8 o'clock, and Archbishop Glennon, 
of St. Louis, will preach. Bishop Burke, of Albany, will be 
celebrant of the children's mass on Wednesday morning. Bishop 
O'Connor, of Newark, will be celebrant of the mass on Thursday 
for the deceased clergy of the diocese, and Auxiliary Bishop 
Cusack will be the preacher. On Friday morning Bishop Colton, 
of Buffalo, will be celebrant of the votive mass of the Sacred 
Heart and the Rev. William O'Brien Pardow will preach. 

After the celebration at the Cathedral to-morrow there will 
be a dinner for the two Cardinals and the visiting clergy, by 
the priests of the archdiocese in the Cathedral College. Mon- 
signor McCready, Monsignor Mooney and others will speak. 
Arrangements for the various civic functions, the meeting at 
Carnegie Hall, the reception at the Catholic Club and the pro- 
cession on Saturday afternoon have been completed. 

Brigadier General Thomas H. Barry, who has been relieved 
from duty in Cuba to be grand marshal of the procession on 
Saturday, has finished the preliminary arrangements. He an- 
nounced yesterday that there would be probably forty thousand 
men in line, and that the procession would start promptly at 
10 o'clock from Washington Square. 

SERVICES IN OLD CHURCHES. 



CATHOLICS FLOCK TO ST. PETER'S, IN BARCLAY 
STREET, AND ST. PATRICK'S, IN MOTT STREET. 

Of all the churches in this diocese, the two most closely 
identified with the progress of Catholicity are old St. Peter's, 
in Barclay street, and the first cathedral church, St. Patrick's, 
in Mott street, now popularly known as "Old St. Patrick's." 



44 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 



In each of these the services of yesterday were no different and 
the thanksgiving no more fervent than at other churches, but 
because of their early history Catholics from all parts of the 
city visited them. 

Monsignor Kearney celebrated mass at Old St. Patrick's 
and Monsignor McGean at St. Peter's. The latter was the first 
Catholic church established in this city. Monsignor McGean 
referred to that fact in his sermon. He said: 

"This one hundredth year of the Diocese of New York 
helps to bring to our minds here to-day that more than a cen- 
tury ago, on this very spot, within the sacred space covered 
by these very walls, was erected the first sacred altar within a 
Catholic temple. On the spot, in the absence of a bishop, 
the cornerstone of the predecessor of this edifice was laid by 
Don Jardoqui, Spain's representative in this country, in 1785. 

"It was some fifteen years after this event that the Catholics 
who worshipped in this church decided, under their pastor. 
Father Coleman, to erect another church in the outskirts of thp 
city, which should be the Cathedral church, inasmuch as word 
came from home that New York would be made a see city. 
And so they built and opened Old St. Patrick's Cathedral, at 
Mott and Prince streets, whose place has been taken by the 
magnificent edifice at Fifth avenue and Fiftieth street. This 
church in which we worship to-day, built in 1836, the suc- 
cessor of the first St. Peter's, is known as the cradle of Catholi- 
cism in the Archdiocese of New York, and it has in every regard 
a right to the name." 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE EVE OF A MEMORABLE DAY— CHIL- 
DREN'S DAY IN PARISH CHURCHES. 



(Tuesday, April 27.) 

Cardinal Gibbons, Monsignor Falconio, the Apostolic Delegate, 
and the prelates and clergy who will participate in the solemn 
ceremonies at St. Patrick's Cathedral to-day arrived here yes- 
terday and, in turn, visited Cardinal Logue at Archbishop 
Farley's house, in Madison avenue. The American Cardinal 
reached the city before noon, and was driven at once to the 
Archbishop's house, where he greeted his colleague, the Irish 
Cardinal. The meeting between the two princes of the Catholic 
Church was affectionate. They embraced each other, saying: 
"Pax tecum" — "Peace be with you." Later in the day Cardinal 
Logue received Archbishop Quigley, of Chicago; Archbishop 
Moeller, of Cincinnati; Archbishop Ireland, of St. Paul; Arch- 
bishop Ryan, of Philadelphia; Archbishop Blenk, of New Orleans, 
and the several bishops of the province of New York. 

Cardinal Gibbons will be the guest of Herbert D. Robbins, 
of No. 1034 Fifth avenue, during his stay here. Monsignor 
Falconio will be housed at St. Agnes's rectory, Archbishop 

45 



46 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Quigley at the Cathedral rectory and the other prelates at the 
homes of well known Catholics or at hotels where accommo- 
dations have been provided for them. 

The Countess Annie Leary entertained Cardinal Logue at 
dinner last night at her city home, No. 1032 Fifth avenue, and 
Herbert Robbins gave a dinner at the same time for the American 
Cardinal. Among the guests at the Countess Leary's dinner 
were Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, Mrs. Charles Mury, Mr. 
and Mrs. Kernochan, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Burrell, Mr. and 
Mrs. Eugene Kelly, John Jacob Astor, Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. 
Oelrichs, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Phipps, Dr. and Mrs. J. Duncan 
Emmet, Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Bristed, Bishop Browne, of Cloyne; 
the Rev. William O'Brien Pardow, Archbishop Farley, Monsignor 
Lavelle, Mr. and Mrs. Burton Harrison^ Frank Leslie Baker, Mr. 
and Mrs. W. Bayard Cutting, Mr. and Mrs. Dana Pierson, Mr. 
and Mrs. J. Russell Soley, Mrs. Frederick Vanderbilt, Mr. and 
Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish, Mrs. Shipley Jones, Mrs. Hugo Fritsch, 
Mrs. James Townsend, Miss Henry, Mr. and Mrs. J. Borden 
Harriman, General Benjamin F. Tracy, Miss Remsen and Mrs. 
Richard A. Dana. 

Mr. Robbins had as his guests to meet Cardinal Gibbons Sir 
Caspar Purdon Clarke, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Choate, Mr. 
and Mrs. W. Bayard Cutting, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Mayor 
McClellan, Mr. and Mrs. Goodyear Livingston, Miss Iselin, Mr. 
and Mrs. Edmund L. Baylies, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Murray 
Butler and Mr, and Mrs. Herbert Robbins. After the dinner 
Cardinal Gibbons and some of the guests went to the reception 
at the Countess Leary's home. 

There were services for the children yesterday in all the 
parish churches of the archdiocese, and in the larger parishes 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 47 

the children, wearing centennial badges, marched through the 
streets near the churches. At the Cathedral a solemn mass was 
sung by Monsignor Hayes, the chancellor, and Monsignor Lavelle 
preached. There were three thousand children present. Mon- 
signor Lavelle took for his text, "Remember the early days, 
and keep the early years in mind." 

He pictures to his young auditors the struggles and priva- 
tions of the Catholics in this country, and reminded them that 
their ancestors in the faith had been subjected to all sorts of 
prejudices. The truth had prevailed, he said, and the Church 
was now reaping the harvest. 

"At one time," he added, "it was common in this city to 
see advertisements for help, with the line, 'No Irish need apply/ 
What was really meant was that no Catholics need apply." 

The public services of thanksgiving will begin promptly at 
ii o'clock this morning in St. Patrick's Cathedral. There will 
be a procession of the clergy and all the prelates from the college 
in Madison avenue to the Cathedral. Cardinal Logue will be 
the celebrant of the mass, and his American colleague will 
preach. Monsignor Falconio will impart the papal benediction. 

Archbishop Farley has received letters of congratulation from 
Pope Pius X. and President Roosevelt that will be made public. 
At the close of the services in the Cathedral the clergy of the 
diocese will entertain the visiting prelates. 

There will be a mass meeting Wednesday night at Carnegie 
Music Hall and a reception on Thursday night at the Catholic 
Club. 



48 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

PLAN FOR CENTENARY DINNER. 



JUSTICE DOWLING TO BE TOASTMASTER AT HOTEL 
ASTOR ON EVENING OF MAY £ 

Forty-eight Catholic schools were represented last night at 
a meeting to make plans for the centenary dinner of the As- 
sociation of Former Pupils of Catholic Schools of New York 
City, which is to be held at the Hotel Astor on May 5. The 
meeting was called at St. James's Institute, No. 27 Oliver street, 
and Edward F. Boyle, president of the association, presided. 

Justice Dowling will be the toastmaster, and among the 
speakers will be Bishop Cusack, Senator Carter, of Montana; 
the Rev. Thomas A. Thornton, Dr. James J. Walsh, of Fordham 
University, and the Rev. John Wynne, S. J. Alfonse G. Koelble, 
of the Holy Redeemer's School, is chairman of the Committee 
of Arrangements. 



CHAPTER V. 

GRAND TE DEUM AT THE CATHEDRAL 
CHURCH OF SAINT PATRICK. 



(Wednesday, April 29, 1908.) 

Not since the last Plenary Council of Baltimore has there been 
such a gathering of the American hierarchy of the Catholic Church 
as the one that assembled yesterday morning within the four walls 
of the Gothic pile in Fifth avenue and gave public thanksgiving 
for a century of fruitful activity. From the North and the 
South, the East and the West, the pillars of the Church came to 
rejoice with Archbishop Farley and the Catholic laity of New 
York. One prince of the Church, Cardinal Logue, of Ireland, was 
celebrant of a pontifical mass, and another, Cardinal Gibbons, de- 
livered a sermon. Rome showered its blessings on the assemblage 
and directed Monsignor Falconio, its representative in this coun- 
try, to impart the papal benediction. 

Long before the hour set for the ceremonies the stately 
Cathedral church was filled, and thousands of men, women and 
children were gathered in Fifth avenue and the side streets. 
As is customary on all extraordinary occasions, the prelates 
and clergy marched in solemn procession to the Cathedral. 

49 



SO THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

They gathered in the college building in Madison avenue, and at 
II o'clock, clad in the raiment of their several ranks and escorted 
by a body of distinguished laymen, proceeded along Madison 
avenue to Forty-ninth street, to Fifth avenue and the Cathedral. 
Among those in the lay section of the procession were Stephen 
Farrelly, president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick; ex- 
Justice Joseph Daly, ex-Justice Morgan J. O'Brien, John Fox, 
Justice Dowling, Joseph P. Ryan, Herman Ridder, Arthur J. 
O'Keeffe, Civil Service commissioner; Thomas M. Mulry, Jus- 
tice Fitzgerald, Thomas F. Ryan, John D. Crimmins, Charles 
V. Fornes, Eugene Philbin, John McGaw Woodbury, John J. 
Delany and Justice John W. Goff. 

A group of choir boys followed the guard of honor; then, 
in order, came priests and members of religious bodies, bishops 
and archbishops and last of all the Irish Cardinal. When the 
crowds gathered in front of the Cathedral recognized the Irish 
prelate they greeted him with cheers, an unusual occurrence at 
a Catholic gathering of this nature. The Cardinal slowly lifted 
his eyes, smiled, raised his hand in benediction, and the gathering 
received it kneeling. 

On entering the sanctuary the priests, bishops and arch- 
bishops occupied places according to their dignity. Cardinal 
Logue proceeded to the permanent throne and was there vested 
for the mass. No more inspiring spectacle could be imagined 
than that presented in the Cathedral during the progress of the 
thanksgiving ceremonies. 

On the left side of the sanctuary sat the Irish Cardinal, 
arrayed in costly vestments worn over the red robe, and facing 
him on the right, clad in purple, were His Excellency, Archbishop 
Aversa, Apostolic Delegate to Cuba and Porto Rico ; Archbishops 



The catholic centenary. 51 

Ryan, of Philadelphia; Ireland, of St. Paul, and Moeller, of Cin- 
cinnati; O'Connell, of Boston; Keane, of Dubuque; Blenk, of New 
Orleans ; Quigley, of Chicago ; Bruchesi, of Montreal, and Glen- 
non, of St. Louis, who. is the }'oungest prelate in the country. 
On the opposite side, near the Cardinal's throne and attired in 
copes and white mitres, were the suffragan bishops of the 
Province of New York: McFaul, of Trenton; O'Connor, of 
Newark; Burke, of Albany; McQuaid, of Rochester; Gabriels, 
of Ogdensburg; Ludden, of Syracuse, and McDonnell, of Brook- 
lyn. Other Bishops present were Canevin, of Pittsburg; Dona- 
hue, of Wheeling; Foley, of Detroit; Northrup, of Charleston; 
Scannell, of Omaha; Allen, of Mobile; Hendrick, of Cebu, Phil- 
ippine Islands ; Kelly, of Savannah ; Tierney, of Hartford ; 
Monaghan, of Wilmington; Guertin, of Manchester; Beaven, of 
Springfield ; Morris, of Little Rock ; Hennessy, of Wichita ; Davis, 
of Davenport, la.; Burke, of St. Joseph; Fitzmaurice, of Erie, 
and Hartley, of Columbus. Archbishop Farley sat on the left 
and the Papal Delegate to the United States, Monsignor Falconio, 
occupied a throne on the right side, next to that erected for 
Cardinal Gibbons. 

There were Franciscans clad in their brown habits, Dominicans 
in their garb of white, Passionists in black, Jesuits, Benedictines, 
Carmelites, Redemptorists, and Abbot Obrecht, head of that 
most austere of all religious bodies, the Trappist monks, of 
Gethsemane, Ky. 

Monsignor Edwards was the assistant priest at the mass 
and the deacons of honor were Monsignors McGean and Mac- 
Cready. The Rev. John A. Kellner and the Rev. R. O. Hughes 
were, respectively, deacon and sub-deacon. Before the Credo 
was sung the ascetic figure of Cardinal Gibbons, attired in the 



52 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

long, flowing red robe, was seen emerging from the sanctuary, 
two altar boys carrying his train. 

A deep silence fell over the assemblage. The Cardinal 
bowed to his colleague, to the Papal Delegate and. the other 
prelates, then slowly mounted the pulpit and began his sermon. 

It was a masterly, comprehensive and patriotic discourse that 
took note alike of the zeal and energy of the clergy and the 
loyalty of the laity; gloried in the patriotism of the early 
Catholics and inspired all present to emulate that devotion to 
the land of their adoption. He went to Isaiah for his text, and 
took from the sixtieth chapter these words : 

"Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, 
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee! The gentiles 
shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy 
rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all these are 
gathered together, they are come to thee; thy sons shall come 
from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side. Then 
shalt thou see and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and be 
enlarged when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to 
thee, the strength of the gentiles shall come to thee." 

Addressing his distinguished colleague, the Irish Cardinal, 
the prelates and clergy gathered in the sanctuary and the vast 
assemblage in the body of the Cathedral, Cardinal Gibbons 
said: 

"We are honored to-day by the presence of His Eminence 
Cordinal Logue, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland 
and successor to St. Patrick. It is eminently becoming that this 
distinguished prelate should take part in these festivities, as the 
Cathedral and Archdiocese of New York are consecrated to 
St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, and who shares with St. 




(Copyright, Bachrach Bros.) 
HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL GIBBONS. 
America's solitary representative in the Sacred College. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 53 

Paul the glorious title of Apostle of the Nations. We are 
assembled here this morning to celebrate, with joyful praise and 
thanksgiving, the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of 
the diocese of New York. A retrospect of the principal per- 
sonages who figured in the history of the see during the last 
century would be manifestly incomplete if no mention were made 
of John Carroll, the first Archbishop of Baltimore, the Metro- 
politan, in his day, of the Bishop of New York, and the Patriarch 
of the American Church. 

"John Carroll was appointed the first Bishop of Baltimore 
by Pius VIL, in an Apostolic Brief dated November, 1789. The 
See of Baltimore then embraced the whole United States. He 
was consecrated in the chapel attached to Lulworth Castle in 
England, the elegant seat of Thomas Weld, Esq. Mr. Weld had 
the honor of entertaining, more than once, King George III of 
England, and the friendship of the sovereign secured for his host 
religious concessions which were denied to the other Catholic 
gentry and nobility in those days of persecution. 

"The consecrating Prelate was Dr. Walmesly, Vicar Apostolic 
of the London district. This Bishop was not only a learned 
churchman, but also a distinguished scientist. When England 
had determined in 1750 to adopt the Gregorian calendar, Bishop 
Walmesly was selected with other scientific men to arrange the 
calendar and adapt it to the British realm. 

"The sermon on that occasion was preached by the Rev. 
Charles Plowden, an intimate friend of Dr. Carroll and a member 
of the Society of Jesus. Father Plowden then uttered a prediction 
that has been amply fulfilled. He said that the day would come 
when the daughter would surpass the mother, when the Church 
in America would outgrow in numbers and in influence the 
Church in England. 



54 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

"His words have been abundantly verified, for to-day the 
Catholic Church in the United States vastly excels the Church in 
England in the number of her hierarchy, her clergy and laity and 
in the splendor of her institutions of religion, charity and edu- 
cation. 

"I regard the selection of Bishop Carroll as a most providential 
event for the welfare of the American Church. For, if a Prelate 
of narrow views, a man out of sympathy and harmony with the 
genius of the new Republic, had been chosen, the progress of 
the Catholic religion, would have been seriously impeded. 

"It is true the Constitution had declared that no one should 
be molested on account of religion, but constitutional enactments 
would have been a feeble barrier to stem the tide of popular 
and traditional prejudice, unless those enactments were justified 
and vindicated by the patriotic example of the chief ruler of 
the American Church. 

"The Diocese of Baltimore embraced the whole territory 
of the United States until 1808. In that year, by an Apostolic 
Brief of Pius VII., Baltimore was raised to an Archiepiscopal 
See, and four suffragan sees were created — New York, Boston, 
Philadelphia and Bardstown. The Bishop selected to preside 
over the diocese of New York was the Right Rev. Luke Con- 
canen, of the Order of St. Dominick. 

"After his consecration in Rome, Bishop Concanen proceeded 
to Leghorn, and thence to Naples, in the hope of finding a vessel 
that would convey him to America. But, after a brief illness, 
he suddenly expired in that city; and thus the first chosen leader 
of the people of God in this commonwealth was destined, like 
Moses, never to enter the Promised Land." 

Here the Cardinal gave an account, in turn, of the labors 
of each of Concanen's successors — John Connolly, John Dubois, 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 55 

Archbishop Hughes, Cardinal McCloskey, the first Prince of 
the Church in America; Archbishop Corrigan, the practical and 
courtly, and Archbishop Farley, the scholarly incumbent. "John 
Dubois," he said, "was the founder and first president of Mount 
St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, which has been called 'the 
Mother of Bishops.' It is a notable circumstance that his three 
immediate successors in the See of New York were educated in 
that institution. 

"On the occasion of his consecration in Baltimore, the Bishop 
was presented with his pectoral cross and ring by Charles Car- 
roll, of Carrollton, the last of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence. 

"He labored with indefatigable zeal for sixteen years, until he 
was worn out by old age and infirmities. No one acquainted with 
his life can deny that Bishop Dubois was not deficient in force of 
character, but a stronger and younger hand than his was needed 
to grapple with the administrative problems that confronted him 
in his declining years." Archbishop Hughes has been character- 
ized, and justly, as the "greatest American of them all." He was 
made head of the diocese at a time when the Church had need 
of just such a man. 

"Archbishop Hughes," the Cardinal declared, "was the man 
for the occasion. Like Archbishop Carroll, he was providentially 
raised up to meet the exigencies of the times. He braced the 
relaxing nerves of discipline. The trustee system, admirable in 
itself when exercised within legitimate lines, was grossly abused, 
and it led to a spirit of insubordination to the ecclesiastical 
authorities. This evil he repressed with a firm and vigorous hand. 
He was also the fearless champion of Christian education; and if 
to-day our Christian schools are so thoroughly established and 
developed throughout the land, this result is due, in no small 



56 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

measure, to the bold and timely initiative of the Archbishop of 
New York. 

"Archbishop Hughes was a prelate of great intellectual 
power. James Roosevelt Bayley, my venerable predecessor, a man 
of close observation and large experience and an intimate friend 
of the New York prelate, informed me that he regarded Arch- 
bishop Hughes as one of the ablest minds he ever encountered. 
His letters to Mayor Harper, of New York, are models of 
literary style, and are worthy of the pen of a Junius and an 
Edmund Burke. He was a man of indomitable courage. He 
had no sense of fear. He never paled before dangers and 
difficulties. He rather courted them, that he might triumph over 
them. As an instance of his fearlessness he often expressed a 
desire to witness a storm at sea. His wishes were gratified be- 
yond his expectations in a voyage which he made to Europe in a 
sailing vessel in 1839. A hurricane raged with unabated fury 
for twenty-four hours. While his fellow passengers were huddled 
together in a state of consternation, he remained on deck and 
exulted in the fearful conflict of the elements. 

"He has left an indelible impress of his works and character 
on this archdiocese, and even on the country at large." 

Commenting on Cardinal McCloskey, he said that prelate was 
"meek, gentle, retiring from the world," and Hughes was "active, 
bold, vigorous, aggressive." Of the lamented Archbishop Cor- 
rigan, Cardinal Gibbons said : 

"It is quite unnecessary in this assembly to dwell at any 
length on the life of the late lamented Archbishop Corrigan. 
His virtues and good deeds are so fresh in the memory of all 
of us — of his brothers in the episcopate, his clergy and laity, 
that they need no rehearsal at my hands. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 57 

"Suffice it to say that he was a man of many-sided attainments, 
so learned in speculative theology, and yet so practical; so 
courtly, yet so humble; so gentle, yet so strong. He was a 
man of most methodical habits, never wasting a moment's time, 
and was eminently conspicuous for administrative ability. In 
all questions affecting canon law and Church history, as well 
as the venerable traditions and usages of the Apostolic See, 
he was an authority and a living encyclopaedia among his 
colleagues. ,, 

Then His Eminence paid a beautiful tribute to the present 
Archbishop of New York. "It would ill become me," he said, 
"to enlarge here in his presence on the merits and labors of 
the popular prelate who now happily presides over the destinies 
of this flourishing large diocese. He has taken up and holds with 
a firm and prudent hand the reins of government laid down 
by his illustrious predecessors. He enjoys the esteem, the con- 
fidence and affection of the clergy and laity committed to his 
spiritual jurisdiction. And while 'the solicitude of the churches' 
and the moral and religious welfare of his own people are the 
primary objects of his pastoral vigilance and zeal, nevertheless, 
like a true, patriotic prelate, he is always ready and eager to co- 
operate with his fellow citizens of every race and rank and 
religion in advocating any measure that may redound to the 
material and temporal well being of the inhabitants." 

The Cardinal took up the part of the laity in the establish- 
ment and continuance of the doctrines of Catholicism in this 
country, and particularly on this island. He pictured the long 
struggles and privations that had ended in the vindication of 
Truth and the building in its honor of an ecclesiastical monument 
that was, he told those present, their "joy" and their "crown." 
He continued : 



58 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

"In contributing to the erection of this Church you have done 
honor to yourselves. If it is a glory for a citizen to raise a 
monument to the father of his country, how much greater is 
the privilege of erecting a monument to our Saviour and Father 
in heaven. So great, indeed, is the distinction attached to 
the construction of a house of worship, that when there was 
question in the Old Law of building a temple to God, the 
project was conceived by one king, it was carried into execution 
by a second, and the temple was repaired by a third. King 
David conceived the plan; King Solomon carried out his father's 
design, and King Josias renovated the house of prayer. 

"And as three kings took part in erecting Jerusalem's temple, 
so have three princes of the Church united in the construction of 
this noble edifice. Archbishop Hughes secured the ground and 
projected the idea; Cardinal McCloskey erected the building, 
and Archbishop Corrigan, reinforced by his successor, brought 
the work to a happy consummation. And even in the Christian 
dispensation, from the days of Constantine down to the sixteenth 
century, kings and emperors, in conjunction with the chief pastors 
of the Church, usually exercised the exclusive honor of raising 
up in their respective dominions stately basilicas, some of which 
exist to this day, to attest the piety and munificence of their 
royal founders. The Constantines of new Rome, the Edwards of 
England, the Margarets of Scotland, the Louises of France, the 
Henrys of Germany, the Stephens of Hungary, the Canutes of 
Denmark, made their reigns conspicuous by the monuments of 
worship which they constructed in their kingdoms. 

"But the times have changed; a privilege that had been of 
yore exercised chiefly by crowned heads is now relegated to the 
people. You are the heirs of a princely prerogative. And 
though you have not royal titles nor kingly wealth, you and your 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 59 

fathers have proved by your bountiful offerings that you possess 
royal hearts. 

"The most impressive sermon ever preached in this church is 
delivered by the Cathedral itself. It is a sermon in marble. It 
preaches in silent but eloquent language to the immigrant daily 
arriving at your harbor. 

"If the devout philosopher 'finds tongues in trees, books in 
running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything/ surely 
the Christian pilgrim, in casting his eyes around him in this 
church, will discover everywhere object lessons to quicken his 
faith, to strengthen his hope and nourish his love for his God 
and Saviour. 

"Let us imagine a foreigner coming to-day to New York, from 
Germany, Switzerland or sunny Italy. As he walks through the 
streets of your city he feels that he is in a strange land a stranger 
to your country, to your institutions and even to your language* 
But when his eyes fall on this Cathedral, with its cross-crowned 
spires, pointing to the heavens, he feels that he has discovered 
an oasis in the desert ; he has found one familiar spot in a foreign 
land. And entering the church, while tears run down his sun- 
burnt cheeks, he is impelled to exclaim with the Psalmist: 'How 
lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts ! My soul longeth 
and fainteth for the courts of the Lord ! My heart and my flesh 
have exulted in the living God. For the sparrow hath found for 
itself a house, and the turtle dove a nest. Even Thine altars, O 
Lord of hosts, are my home, my King and my God/ 

"He sees the paintings of the saints and of the Lord of saints, 
whom he was accustomed to venerate at home. He sees the 
baptismal font, which reminds him of his regeneration in the 
waters of baptism. He sees the confessional, where he knelt at 
the feet of the Lord's anointed and heard these saving words: 



60 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

'Go in peace, thy sins are forgiven thee.' He sees the altar rail- 
ing, where he partook of the Holy of Holies. He beholds the 
altar ablaze with lights. He sees the officiating pontiff clothed in 
his sacred vestments — those quaint old robes so strange to the 
eye of the outsider, but to the eye of the initiated as familiar as 
his mother's face. He observes the ministering and attending 
clergy; and mingled with them he contemplates the sons of 
Augustine and Benedict, the sons of Dominick and Francis, the 
sons of Ignatius and Alphonsus, the sons of Paul of the Cross 
arid of Paul the Apostle, all clothed with variety. 

"He listens to the peal of the organ and the chant of the 
choir. He hears the plaintive notes of the Kyrie Eleison and the 
joyous anthem, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. He hears the words 
of the everlasting Creed. He hearkens to the chant of the 
Preface, that masterpiece of musical composition, so simple, yet 
so sublime; so familiar, yet so majestic. He beholds around him 
a multitude of kneeling worshippers like himself, and he feels in 
his heart of hearts that he is in the presence of brothers and 
sisters, who have with him 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one 
God and Father of all/ " 

The Cardinal then spoke of the causes that contributed to 
the growth and expansion of Catholicism in New York, and 
said that "under God" for the work accomplished the Catholics 
of New York were "chiefly indebted to the tide of immigrants 
that for the last century has steadily flowed to your harbor." 
Then he said: 

"They have come to your city from the British Isles, from 
the German and Austrian empires, from France and Italy, and 
other portions of Catholic Europe. But this heterogeneous and 
unorganized mass of Christian worshippers would soon disinte- 
grate under adverse circumstances, like a body without a spirit, 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 61 

and their faith would vanish into thin air, if they were not mar- 
shalled and co-ordinated, nourished and sustained by the zeal 
and piety of a devoted and enlightened clergy. But of all the 
nations that have contributed to the upbuilding of the Church of 
Christ in the city of New York you will all avow with gratitude, 
whatever may be your own ancestry, that the post of honor must 
be assigned to the children of ever faithful Ireland. Wherever 
England has enlarged her boundaries, the Irish missionary has 
extended the kingdom of Christ; wherever she has proclaimed her 
laws, he has preached the Gospel; wherever England has built a 
fort or a custom house, the missionary has erected a house of 
prayer; and wherever England has planted the banner of St. 
George, the Irish missionary has raised the Cross, the symbol of 
salvation/' 

In closing the Cardinal admonished the assemblage to work 
in harmony with their beloved Archbishop. "Take an active, 
loyal, personal interest in all that concerns the temporal and 
spiritual welfare of your beloved country," he said. "No man 
should be a drone in the social beehive. No one should be an 
indifferent spectator of the social, economic and political events 
occurring around him. As you all enjoy the protection of a 
strong and enlightened government, so should each man have a 
share in sustaining the burden of the commonwealth. Above 
all, take an abiding and a vital interest in all that affects your 
holy religion. Let the words of the royal psalmist be your inspir- 
ing watchword: Tf I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right 
hand be forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
mouth, if I do not remember thee, if I make not Jerusalem the 
beginning of my joy/" 

When the Cardinal finished speaking, Archbishop Farley occu- 
pied the pulpit and read two letters, one from His Holiness 
Pius X, another from the President of the United States. 



62 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

THE PAPAL MESSAGE. 

"To our Venerable Brother, John M. Farley, Archbishop of New 

York. 

"Venerable Brother: Health and apostolic benediction. 

"The recurrence of the memorable events in the history of 
any diocese is at all times an occasion of joy, and the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of the foundation of the archdiocese of New 
York, whose development has been extraordinary, must call 
forth unusual rejoicing because the constant increase in the har- 
vests of a hundred years bears ample testimony that the highest 
expectations have been abundantly fulfilled. 

"It seems proper, in view of these consoling results, that on 
the solemn centennial celebration of the See of New York we 
should renew our fervent supplication to God that He may vouch- 
safe to it a more plentiful supply of His celestial gifts and more 
copious resources to accomplish things even more laudable. 

"For these reasons, and as a mark of special honor, it affords 
us great pleasure to tender to you and to your devoted flock our 
heartfelt congratulations. For assuredly you and your loyal 
brethren have rendered many distinguished services to the Church 
and to the State, and we cherish the hope that these, our words, 
may be an incentive to persevere in that vigilance and seal of 
which you have thus far given such signal proof, and thus bring 
glory to America and stand as an example for the entire world. 

"As an augury of heavenly favor and an evidence of our good 
will, we most lovingly impart to you and to your faithful people 
the apostolic benediction. 

(( Given at St. Peter's, Rome, the ninth day of April, 1908, in 
the fifth year of our Pontificate. 

(Signed), "PIUS X, Pope.' 



»» 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 63 

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. 

"My Dear Archbishop: Let me take occasion, on the cele- 
bration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Diocese of 
New York, to extend to you my hearty congratulations and my 
earnest good wishes for the future of yourself and of your 
diocese. 

"Again congratulating you, believe me, Sincerely yours, 

"THEODORE ROOSEVELT." 

The Archbishop then gave public expression, for himself and 
his people, of gratitude to God for the things that are, thanked 
the Pope and his Delegate, Monsignor Falconio, and the two 
Cardinals, and asked the people to pray for the President of the 
United States. It was the heart overflowing, and the grateful 
words created a profound impression on the assemblage. 

"Now, dearly beloved brethren," he said, "I do not wish to 
detain you, but I must fulfil what I feel to be a duty most in- 
cumbent upon me this morning — to return thanks for all the 
favors we have received upon this occasion. Above all, we owe 
thanks to Almighty God. And we owe thanks, too, to the Vicar 
of Christ upon earth ! May God preserve the Holy Father from 
his enemies. I thank the Apostolic Delegate and the Cardinal of 
Baltimore and all the Archbishops and Bishops who have come 
so far to honor our celebration. I wish to thank also the head 
of this nation who, out of his big heart, has sent us his letter of 
congratulation. May God bless and preserve our President! 

"And what shall I say of him who has come across the vast 
ocean at great risk and inconvenience in order to be with us in 



64 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

our celebration? Words fail me when I wish to express our 
gratitude. Who would have imagined or dreamed one hundred 
years ago that we would have in our midst at the celebration of 
our centenary the 114th successor of St. Patrick and the Primate 
of All Ireland! He comes to us, bringing the prestige of the 
power of one of the oldest sees in the world, where the faith is 
taught as purely as it is in Rome, the seat of Christendom. I 
thank you, your Eminence, one hundred thousand times, and on 
behalf of the people of the diocese I thank you. 

"May the Archbishops and Bishops who have come so far, 
some of them over a thousand miles, bring back with them an 
inspiration from this most inspiring scene. 

"And now also I wish to thank the non-Catholics of this city 
for their great interest, sympathy and kindness. I could, if I 
had time, and if this were the proper place, read to you the 
many letters I have received from non-Catholics, expressing their 
sympathy and their good will. And lastly I wish to express our 
sense of appreciation to the great press of New York, to which 
we owe very much for the kind manner in which our celebra- 
tion has been treated. The subject has been handled with a 
decorum that is an honor to the press, and it will serve to wipe 
out any vestige of bigotry with which portions of the press may 
have been infected. Again I thank you all." 

Monsignor Lavelle, V. G., rector of the Cathedral, read in 
Latin and in English the Papal Bull bestowing upon the Cath- 
olics of New York the Apostolic Benediction, and at the close 
of the solemn ceremonies the entire assemblage, both clergy and 
laity, stood and sang the hymn of thanksgiving: 

"Holy God, we praise Thy name; 
Lord of All, we bow before Thee." 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 65 

As the two Cardinals slowly marched into the sanctuary the 
edifice resounded with, 

"Infinite Thy vast domain, 

Everlasting is Thy name." 



Hailed as a "jolly good fellow," the Irish Cardinal was the 
centre of interest at a dinner spread in the main hall of the 
Cathedral College and arranged by the clergy of the Archdiocese 
for the visiting prelates. Archbishop Farley sat in the middle of 
the guests' table and on each side of him was a Prince of the 
Church, Logue on his right and Gibbons on his left. While the 
courses were being served groups of priests in various parts of 
the hall broke out into song and for more than an hour the old 
college building resounded with such airs as "Tara's Hall," "Come 
Back to Erin," and "The Star Spangled Banner." Monsignor 
McGean was toastmaster and Monsignor McCready delivered an 
address of welcome to Cardinal Logue in behalf of the clergy of 
the Archdiocese, in the course of which he said: 

"May we ask your Eminence to carry back to your people the 
message that will gratify and in some measure console them for 
their loss of kindred? Tell them that the faith that Patrick 
preached is, among the children of the dispersion in this new 
land, as lively and as pure, as whole and entire to-day, as in the 
brightest and palmiest days of Erin. And please, your Eminence, 
tell them, too, that because of this adherence to the faith of 
their fathers, and the frequent practice of its precepts, Erin's 
daughters and their descendants still sustain that reputation for 
purity of life and morals which was ever proverbial with them, 
and was the proud distinction of their mothers in the land blessed 
by the presence of Saints Patrick, Bridget and Columbia, that 
noble trinity of Ireland's saints. 



66 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

"Permit us, then, your Eminence, to end as we began by 
thanking you cordially in our own name, and that of Archbishop 

Farley and the people of New York, for your kind though all 

too brief — visit to us, to join in thanksgiving to God for the great 
and abundant graces he has betsowed on this diocese since its 
foundation. Your visit shall remain with us ever a pleasant 
memory. We, in fine, wish and pray for your Eminence a safe 
return to your loving people. We pray particularly that your 
days of usefulness in the service of God and your country may 
be prolonged, even unto the years of Patrick, your prototype and 
predecessor in the See of Armagh." 

Monsignor Mooney was the next speaker, and he spoke with a 
sincerity that provoked tremendous applause for the subject of his 
remarks, Archbishop Farley. He said : 

"Amid the strains of jubilation and the accents of acclaim 
with which the centenary of our diocese has been hailed, it were 
surely but consonant with a due observance of the historic event 
to include the personal note that vitalizes and dominates its 
occurrence. That note, Archbishop, is to be found in yourself; 
its tone and its coloring, as you stand and have stood related to 
this See of New York. 

"Thirty-eight years ago you were enrolled in the ranks of its 
ministry. It was at Rome where your Levite days witnessed the 
tragic scenes that culminated in the full submission of this hal- 
lowed Princedom of a thousand years and made its saintly heir 
a prisoner within his own gates. The morning of your priesthood 
saw no little of the fateful drama of the century that has but 
lately passed away. Your youthful lot, foretelling years of vast 
import when and where epochs of world-wide interest began and 
ended and transcendent characters filled the centre of the world's 
stage of action. It was not then too much to think that what 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 67 

was then vouchsafed to you was indeed a presage of the future. 

"You came back to your allotted place of labor in the vineyard 
of the Lord, bringing to it a rich endowment of the natural at- 
tributes of a gifted race, an intellectual culture begotten of the 
best that two continents had to give, and a high conception of 
your holy calling. Fruits rich and rare were the speedy garnering 
of your earliest service. 

"But elsewhere, and in higher commmand, as the years went 
on, they saw you mount from trust to trust, from post of honor to 
yet another, with ever heavier burdens and ever increasing round 
of labor and of toil until, with unusual accord, the chief rulership 
of the diocese was committed to your keeping. In each and 
every charge you were called on to fill in the two and thirty 
yars that led up to that auspicious event you filled the role 
exacted of you to the full with abiding and surpassing benefit to 
religion's every need. 

"Whether, as the trusted official, with duties varied and of far- 
reaching scope, of that true Prince of the Church, America's first 
Cardinal, whether, as devoted pastor, when the pressure of the 
teeming city's life was highest and manifold its cares, or, as the 
first helper and chosen associate of his illustrious successor, you 
answered every requirement, you measured up to every want, 
and you more than justified every expectation. 

"The marked equipment of mind and soul that graced your 
entrance into the ministry found many an opportunity for its 
exercise, many a sphere for its action, and reaped many a suc- 
cess on the many fields it had to cover. Constantly kept flawless 
and unrusted, at command constantly burnished and refurbished 
in the armory of experience, constantly growing and expanding 
under the influence of the high ideals that were deported from 
your vision, there was a consequent advance in every good, a 



68 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

steady rise in many-sided merit and in worth that singled you 
as the fitting one to be invested with the dignity of New York's 
fourth Archbishop." 

The Archbishop was deeply touched by this splendid tribute. 
(Stenographic Report in Catholic News.) 

"I decline to take to myself," he said, "of any large share of 
praise or measure of credit for the work that has been done 
in this diocese. I feel that it has been done largely by the priests 
who have so faithfully stood by me. Of course, I have a right to 
your (support. I did not choose you ; you have chosen me. Thank 
God I have had your support from the day that I took up my 
crosier. 

"The latest evidence of your goodwill, which was spontaneous, 
was shown when we were discussing the question of this cen- 
tennial. You willed at that time that some monument of the 
event should arise and endure. The clergy proposed, knowing 
what was my most earnest desire, but without one word from 
me, that the monument should be the lifting of the $700,000 debt 
from our cathedral, within two years. That is the latest evi- 
dence of 3'our loyalty to the head of the diocese. 

"If I have acquired or exercised any measure of influence over 
the clergy it is because I knew them and they knew me. Many 
of them were my school fellows in Fordham and at Rome, Al- 
most immediately after my ordination I was thrown into a posi- 
tion of confidence with my superiors, and into contact with every 
member of the clergy; hence I became gray in the service long be- 
fore my time. Later I was placed in the position of Vicar-Gen- 
eral, a position amounting almost to another Bishop, and then, 
too, I had the confidence of the clergy as well as of my superiors, 
and never, either as Ordinary or as Vicar-General, or as Auxil- 
iary Bishop or as Archbishop, have I had one single heartache 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 69 

given to me by any of my priests. Never has a priest turned the 
word upon me and told me that I was unjust or cruel or wrong. 

"I thank you all, gentlemen, for the manner that you have 
accepted the sentiments of the Vicar-General, but of which I konw 
I am entirely unworthy." 

Monsignor Falconio, the Apostolid Delegate, in responding to 
the toast of "The Holy Father," said: 

"Our Holy Father, Pope Pius X, is the successor of St. Peter 
and the Vicar of Christ upon earth. He has the respect of all 
the peoples of the world, and especially of the people of this 
country, where the Church has made such great strides. This 
respect, coming from all of you who are celebrating the centenary 
of your diocese, cannot but be most pleasing to our Holy Father. 
This expression of loyalty on the part of the Archbishop, priests 
and people will be acceptable to the Pope because as our Holy 
Father he cannot but rejoice in our joy. 

"The celebration marks a great event in the Catholic Church 
in the United States. New York is one of the first four dioceses 
erected to form a Catholic hierarchy in the United States. Your 
history is a history in every line of which we read of the great 
work that has been done for charity and the great progress that 
the Church has made. It is the hierarchy that has made the 
Church here what it is — the most flourishing portion of the King- 
dom of God upon earth. 

"Who could have imagined one hundred years ago that the 
Church could have been made to occupy such an honorable posi- 
tion to-day? Perhaps Pope Pius VII may have cherished a hope 
that in America the Church would thrive, but he could not have 
imagined her present position here to-day. I firmly believe that, 
after God, her position here to-day is due to those apostolic men 



?o THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

of the hierarchy who by their energy and zeal have done a noble 
work. 

"But in a special manner do I feel bound to tender my con- 
gratulations to the Diocese of New York, and to its respected 
Archbishop and to the clergy and laity. One hundred years 
ago, when Pius VII signed the Bull instituting this diocese, 
there were in the entire diocese "one church and three or four 
missionaries. But behold the change ! What wonderful progress ! 
It is now a great ecclesiastical province with millions of people 
and thousands of institutions, and I feel it my duty, on behalf 
of the Pope, to tender to you my congratulations." 

When he had done the Irish Primate rose and was greeted 
with hearty cheers, and then the clergy sang with jovial feeling: 
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." 

"I'm beginning to think that when I came here," he said, "it 
was under false pretences. My dear friend, the Archbishop of 
New York, invited me here to sing. Now it seems that I am 
called upon for speeches. 

"I have just heard many compliments upon the eloquent ser- 
mon of my brother, Cardinal Gibbons, and the next thing that 
I know somebody will be complimenting me upon my singing of 
the mass. Well, your Eminence, your Graces and Lord Bishops, 
there you see that I am not a republican. It is one of the events 
of my life to have this opportunity to come to New York. 

"I express it mildly when I say that I am astounded and 
pleased to see with my own eyes the progress of Catholicity has 
made here, both in America and in the capital city of New York. 
I had, of course, heard of it in a sort of theoretical fashion before. 
Now I know of it as an eye-witness knows. And I have the 
pleasure of looking, I think, thus, with my own eyes, upon one 
of the greatest religious triumphs of our times, and that is the 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 71 

progress which Catholicism has made in the Western World. 

"Of course, naturally I believe all the good, and what little 
evil you have got you brought from Ireland, or your parents or 
their parents brought with them. The Blarney stone is in all 
of it. 

"Now, I am getting along in years, and there is one thing 
I wanted to see, and that is how you do it. I mean by that that 
you are bleeding Ireland to death, and I came over here to get 
some of your energy and to find out all about you and how you 
do things. I think it will be of importance to me during the few 
remaining days of my life. 

"Now, seriously, I think the future of the Church of Christ 
is in America. Rome will be the centre, there the Holy Father 
will have his seat, but the energy, the strength, the moving life, 
will be here in America. The Church owes and will owe, a great 
deal to this free country of America. 

"This, to-day, has been a most interesting event. A hundred 
years ago the Catholics in this land were a mere handful. But 
see the change in the century. Here is a great, magnificent 
Cathedral, your glorious charitable institutions and your magnifi- 
cent system of parochial schools, which, to my mind, is one of the 
clearest proofs that the Church here in America is alive and very 
much alive. 

"I feel that I am more than repaid for my visit to this cen- 
tenary of the Archdiocese of Armagh. I am going back to tell 
my clergy everything that has been done by their brethren here 
in America. You know that there are more Irishmen in America 
than there are in Ireland. They are in sympathy with their own 
land, or if they are descendants they are still good Irishmen, and 
we in Ireland have much to be thankful to them for. There is 
no call for help from Ireland to which Ireland's sons do not 



72 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

respond, or even from those who cannot claim nativity upon her 
shores or descend from her sons and daughters, but who help 
her. 

"You know I feel I have a claim upon these Irishmen in 
America, a sort of a supreme jurisdiction, as the successor of St. 
Patrick. And so I feel that I am making- a sort of a visitation 
here. And I say, in closing, expressing my deepest and sincerest 
thanks, that I shall carry back home with me the kindliest feelings 
toward my brethren of the clergy and laity in America." 

The following clergymen were of the committee appointed to 
arrange the dinner : Rt. Rev. Monsignor M. J. Lavell, V. G., chair- 
man; Rev. M. C. O'Farrcll, Rev. M. J. Phclan, Rev. J. W. Power, 
Rev. M. A. Cunnion, Rev. Dr. F. H. Wall, Rev. P. McNamee, 
Rev. J. L. Hoey, Rev. E. T. McGinley, Rev. J. J. Owens, Rev. J. 
H. McKenna, Rev. Thomas M. O'Keefc, Rev. J. B. Reilly. 

PONTIFICAL VESPERS. 

St. Patricks Cathedral was filled again last evening when 
pontifical vespers were sung. Monsignor Falconio was the cele- 
brant. All of the visiting Prelates were present. Archbishop 
Glennon delivered the sermon, in the course of which he referred 
to the present Pope, his policy and his recent note on modernism, 
saying : 

"A few years ago when Christendom recovered from the shock 
which the great Leo's death created, its first anxiety was to know 
what manner of man this new Pontiff Pius X would be. His 
policy — his personality, even — unknown; how would he face the 
world problem? Is he prepared to preach a new crusade or to 
speak a new philosophy? Will he win back the Orient or seek 
the favor of vacillating powers? No; of these, for the moment, 
he is heedless, rather ; his scheme is greater. He would go to the 




W »xsn;.\( >k PAI/CONIO. 
Apostolic i >el igate I o the United Stal 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 73 

Sacred Scriptures — he would read St. Paul to the Ephesians, and 
therefrom he would draw a watchword and symbol: 'To restore 
all things in Christ/ This would be his answer to their appeals 
for reformation and innovation; this the panacea for four hun- 
dred years of religious failure and spiritual decay. He would 
inaugurate the grand restoration, and he would invoke it in the 
name and by the grace of Christ, the Saviour and Master of the 
universe. 

"Here was a mission worthy of a great Pontiff — vast — com- 
prehensive in its character. The Pontiff would repair the walls 
of the City of God, he would extend the domain of the Saviour 
until all the world would see and know and love and revere the 
Christ. 

"But before the work of restoration would begin it was neces- 
sary to view the foundations, especially the cornerstone itself on 
which the whole building rested ; necessary to make all the world 
know the cornerstone to be the Blessed Savior. Useless would 
it be to build on Christ unless first Christ Himself was known 
and believed in and worshipped as divine, the Son of God. 

"Hence, before the Pontiff's mind arose the question: How 
the world of to-day looks on the Christ? Does it deny Him? 
Yes. By some, Christ was denied. Fifty years ago learned 
critics declared the Gospel narrative was fiction and Christ was 
only a myth. More recent criticism, however, tends the opposite 
way. According to these latter, there was such a being as 
Christ; the Gospel narrative is an historical document, and the 
leading features of it are to be held as historically true. Further- 
more, the critics are practically united in admitting that Christ, 
the Master, was a man amongst men, readily the first, the greatest 
and the best; that His teachings are of the highest altruism 
and that His life exhibited the highest unselfishness and heroism. 



74 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

All this is admitted; nay, mere, it is set forth in song and story, 
with ever increasing devotion for the admiration of the world. 

"But while these admissions are made, and just in proportion, 
apparently, to the enthusiasm of the- admission, there is asserted 
with ever increasing vehemence disbelief in and utter rejection 
of Christ's divinity. Christ, they say, was a man, good, great 
and true, but Christ was not God. In Him there was no divinity, 
unless natural goodness, love of truth, holiness of life, wonderful 
spiritual insight constitute divinity, but, divine as God was, they 
say absolutely impossible, unthinkable, untrue. 

"Hence to the Pontiff the great restoration of all things in and 
through Christ necessitated first the restoration of Christ to His 
Kingdom in the souls and minds of men. You have heard, my 
dear brethren, much of the recent encyclical of the Holy Father 
on Modernism, much adverse criticism on the title, the manner, 
the object of it. You have heard how it purposed stifling all 
mental activity — all spirit of inquiry— -all further search for the 
truth — now it must produce atrophy of the spiritual sense. The 
truth is that the encyclical is, first of all, and above all, a de- 
fence of the divinity of Christ ; a defence made with all the more 
spirit because the denial in these latter days was heard in the 
home of His friends; in some instances, even from those who as 
His priests had sworn to serve Him and proclaim that divinity 
unto all men." 

"You have heard, my dear brethren, much of the recent encyc- 
lical of the Holy Father on modernism, much adverse criticism 
of the title, the manner, the object of it. You have heard how 
it purposed Stirling all mental activity, all spirit of inquiry, all 
further search for the truth — how it must produce atrophy of the 
spiritual sense. The truth is that the encyclical is, first of all, and 
above all, a defence of the divinity of Christ; a defence made with 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 75 

all the more spirit because the denial in these latter Hays was 
heard in the home of His friends; in some instances even from 
those who, as His priests, had sworn to serve Him and proclaim 
that divinity unto all men, 

"Ah, but the critics say we wrong them — the Holy Father 
wrongs them. They do not, they say, deny the divinity of Christ ; 
but, on the contrary, they proclaim themselves firm believers in 
a divine Christ, which, however, history does not give them, nor 
the Gospels, nor a teaching Church; but by their own spiritual 
development in response to their own spiritual needs and aspira- 
tions. In other words, Christ as the man is clothed by them 
with a divinity of their own minds' creation — He, the Christ, 
bound to follow their mental evolution, as they ascend in the scale 
of intellect and their souls in the broadening way of much desire; 
the Christ must toil up after them, humbly accept their mean- 
ingless applause and await a coronation from their genius. 
What pride, what conceit, what blasphemy !" 

In closing his discourse, he said : 

"It is because of all these things we would lift our voices to- 
night in speaking against the devotion of our hearts, our prayers 
arid thanksgiving to Christ, Our Lord and Master. May He 
reign victoriously and of His kingdom may there be no end. 

"And we turn to our Holy Father, joining with the entire 
Christian world in offering our greetings and thanks, in that he, 
the Vicar of Christ, did not fail to give to all of us the solemn 
warning to guard and defend the name and prerogatives of Our 
Lord and Master. The Church of America, thanks be to God, 
has in this regard been preserved from taint. This most insidious 
form of denial has no place among us — we stand with St. Peter 
and with his successors and say again as Peter did, To whom, 



Jtf THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Lord, shall we go but to Thee; Thou hast the words of eternal 
life/ 

"And with another servant of His we may say : 
" 'We know — we to whom Christ has given definite teaching 
about humanity, about His law and His doctrines. 

" 'We won — we whom Faith animates and draws to the 
divine Christ. 

" 'We love, whom Christ has loved unto death and who have 
been baptized in His blood, poured out for love/ 

"Therefore comes our thanksgiving — the Te Deum of a Chris- 
tian people. 
" 'Oh, Christ Jesus, Master, Lord, Redeemer, giving life, love and 

hope to men; 
Divine, divinely sent — made man because of us; 
In Thy life on earth, proclaiming truth eternal and suffering the 

agony of death ; 
Bringing humanity to Thy blood-stained cross and rilling their 

souls with the light of Thy resurrection. 
Giving to all men henceforth — a guide— Thy spouse 
Our Mother, the Church. 

Sweeping the ages with the all-encompassing light of Thy per- 
sonality. "The brightest light that ever yet was seen on 

land or sea." 
Give to us strength to do in Thy name, what Thou wouldst have 

us do for all men — give to us light to show them the way 

that leads to Thee; we beseech 
Thee for the courage and faith of Thy martyrs of long ago — that 

death or prison may not daunt us, but through trial, and if 

need be, much sorrow 
We may achieve the victory of faith in the bourne of the 

blessed/ " 



CHAPTER VI. 

MASS MEETING AT CARNEGIE MUSIC HALL- 
CHILDREN'S DAY AT THE CATHEDRAL. 



(Thursday, April 30.) 

With a public meeting that filled Carnegie Music Hall to over- 
flowing last night the Catholic laity of the archdiocese of New- 
York began a series of rejoicings that will culminate on Saturday 
with a procession of forty thousand standard bearers of the faith. 
A more representative gathering of Catholics has probably never 
assembled in New York than that which greeted Archbishop 
Farley, Cardinal Logue, the two Papal Delegates, Monsignor 
Falconio, of Washington, and Archbishop Aversa, of Mexico, 
and numerous other prelates gathered on the stage of that public 
building. Every seat was taken, hundreds stood in the rear and 
thousands in the streets. 

When the vast audience had been seated ex- Justice Morgan 
J. O'Brien called the meeting to order. The Katolischer Sanger- 
bund, Emil Reyl director, sang an anthem dedicated to Arch- 
bishop Farley and called "Ecce Sacerdos Magnus," which liter- 
ally translated means "Behold the Great Priest." The audience 
then rose and sang with patriotic glee "The Star Spangled Ban- 

77 



78 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

ner." Mr. O'Brien made an address of welcome, in the course 
of which he said : 

"It is not so many years ago when the realization of such 
happy conditions would have been thought impracticable and 
visionary, for we know that at the beginning of the nineteenth 
century our religion and its teachers were persecuted, and the 
public sentiment against it was expressed in hostile laws and 
unjust discrimination. Nothing could so signally mark the great 
strides which we have made in religious toleration as the attitude 
of our Protestant fellow citizens, who not only are pleased with 
our meeting and the occasion of it, but many of them have gone 
further, and in public utterances have emphasized the changed 
and growing spirit of the times in favor of religious toleration, 
and the fact that differences of religion no longer make enemies 
of mankind. 

"We know full well that for those who differ with us in 
religion we cherish no feelings other than sentiments of brother- 
hood, charity and kindly regard. They are our neighbors, com- 
panions, friends, and often relatives, with whom we alike share 
our joys and sorrows. We live with them; we vote with them; 
in charitable objects we co-operate with them; and in the struggle 
for liberty, civil and religious, Catholics have shown their will- 
ingness to die with them." 

At the close of his address Mr. O'Brien presented Archbishop 
Farley, who was greeted with prolonged applause. Cardinal 
Gibbons was not present, and the Archbishop explained that the 
prelate had directed him to assure the Catholics of New York 
that his heart was with them on this occasion, as it was the day 
before, when he preached in St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Arch- 
bishop then welcomed Cardinal Logue in the language of the 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 79 

Gael and with one of its choicest phrases, "caed mille failte." In 
the course of his remarks he said: 

"I thank you first of all for the manner in which you received 
the more than generous words of my old friend and college com- 
panion, Judge O'Brien. I have to announce to you before going 
any further my regret that His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, is 
prevented from being here this evening by reason of a slight 
indisposition; but he has directed me to assure you that he is 
with you heart and soul as he was with us yesterday, and as he 
gave evidence to myself when I invited him some time ago, to 
do us the honor of preaching on the occasion of our great cen- 
tenary, It was a labor for him whose life is filled with labor and 
whose years are many, but he said that his love for the people of 
New York, its clergy and its Archbishop, would not permit him to 
refuse. I take this occasion then, in his absence, to thank him. 

"My duty is simple. As I understand it, it is to return thanks 
to our guests from near and far, and let me assure Your Em- 
inence and Right Reverend Prelates and others that outside of my 
sacred functions I have rarely occasion to fill a duty that gives 
me more pleasure than that of saying a word of thanks and a 
word of welcome to our guests in my own name, and in the 
name of my clergy and in the name of the laity of this great city 
and diocese. We have first of all, therefore, to return thanks to 
Almighty God, from whom all blessings flow. I, on my own part, 
return to Him everything that is in my heart, that He has in 
his mercy vouchsafed to permit me to be at the head of this great 
diocese on the occasion of its centenary celebration, to be the 
one that would enter into the labors of my predecessors. I thank 
Him in your name and in my own name, and in the name of my 
clergy. To Him be all power and honor and glory for ever and 
ever. 



80 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

"HOW OUR FATHERS WOULD HAVE REJOICED 
TO HAVE SEEN THIS DAY! SOME OF THEM DID SEE 
IT IN PROPHETIC VISION THE GREAT MAN, OF 
WHOM EVERY NEW YORKER THINKS WHEN HE 
HEARS THE NAME OF THE CHURCHMAN, AMERICAN 
CHURCHMAN, SPOKEN OF, THE ONE WHO LAID 
BROAD AND DEEP AND STRONG THE FOUNDATIONS 
OF YONDER GRAND CATHEDRAL, HE SAW IN VISION 
AND REJOICED. IT WAS HIS PROPHETIC EYES SAW 
WHAT THE GROWTH OF THE CATHEDRAL WOULD 
BE A HUNDRED YEARS HENCE. HE, PERHAPS, WAS 
THE ONLY ONE, CERTAINLY I BELIEVE THE ONLY 
ONE AMONG THE CLERGY, AND I AM SURE THE 
ONLY ONE OF HIS ENTIRE FLOCK WHO WOULD 
HAVE THOUGHT THAT WHERE OUR GRAND CATHE- 
DRAL STANDS TO-DAY WOULD ONE DAY, IN LESS 
THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS, BE THE CENTRE OF 
THE GREATEST CATHOLIC CITY ON THE CONTI- 
NENT. 

"I therefore do thank the clergy who have come to us from 
a great distance to share with us in our rejoicing. We have 
to thank the prelates who have come at a time which is busiest 
for them, I know. They have come to us from the Gulf of 
Mexico; they have come to us from Maine; they have come to 
us from the far-off islands of the sea, and from Canada. To 
them I return my sincerest thanks in the name of all the people 
present who represent the laity of the whole archdiocese. 

"But what measure of thanks can I reserve or can I seek for 
him who has come across the broad Atlantic to show the sym- 
pathy of his great Celtic heart with his Celtic children on this 
side of the ocean J An evidence of the welcome that greeted him 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 81 

was shown a few days ago when the steamer that was to meet 
him went down the bay, freighted not alone with Irishmen but 
with men of every race perhaps in this great city, representatives 
of the Italian race, the German race, the Bohemian race, aye, of 
the Oriental races. All knew to whom they were going to pay 
the tribute of respect that was so much his due. We all know 
that he brings us the threefold gift. He brings us in his person 
the gift of a great heart, a great mind, a great public spiritedness, 
for we are not unacquainted with the history of Cardinal Logue. 
"We know that in his own country, that land so dear to 
many of us, there is no question, whether it be religious, educa- 
tional or patriotic, that has not his support. He throws himself 
into every cause that makes for the public good of his country- 
men at home, aye, and of his countrymen all over the world ; but 
he brings with him besides that an engaging personality which 
grows on one as it has grown on me since I first met him three 
years ago. He brings with him also the prestige of the Primacy 
of one of the oldest patriarchal sees of the Universal Church, 
the Primacy of the old See of Armagh, a see that received the 
faith before York or Canterbury, and never quenched it; a see 
that has fifteen hundred consecutive years of prelates, one hun- 
dred and fourteenth of which he is to-day, and never has there 
been a break in that long chain of the prelates of that ancient see, 
a see that has never permitted any heresy to taint its teachings, 
when constant and noble Antioch and many other of the sees of 
the East that received the faith had fallen away from it; but a 
see that was founded by St. Patrick has clung to the faith even 
as Rome itself. 

"And why was it? Because of prosperity? No, thank God, 
prosperity might have corrupted the Irish people. It was because 
of what she had to suffer, because of her persecutions that she 



82 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

clung to the faith, because she recognized in her condition the 
condition which God's providence was pleased to send upon her, 
the likeness of her Lord and Master, Him whom we all adore 
as the Son of God, Christ our Lord. That is why she clung to it 
so faithfully. Oh, how she had to suffer; how often were her 
altars overthrown, her churches pulled down or stolen from her 
or desecrated, her monasteries cast into ruin; and how often did 
she not take up the fragments and bind them together with her 
own blood and tears, and again they were torn down. 

"A hundred years ago — at the time of which we are speaking 
and thinking so much, during these times — what was there in the 
shape of ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland? Hardly any more 
after fourteen hundred years of the profession and practice of that 
faith, hardly any more than we possessed here in this country. 
How is it to-day? With all her disadvantages the whole land is 
strewn with churches, monasteries, academies, colleges and cath- 
edrals that would do honor to any land in Europe ; and above all, 
the cathedral over which His Eminence has the honor of presid- 
ing, the grand Cathedral of Armagh. A hundred years ago in his 
see, in the see city of that diocese, the cathedral was no better 
than a Bethlehem; it was not fit, as some non-Catholic re- 
marked, to say Mass in; but with all that, and although it was 
only immediately after the emancipation, and after the relaxation 
of the penal laws, one of her noble primates had the courage to 
lay the foundation of the grandest cathedral that exists under the 
British flag. There is nothing like it from end to end of the 
British Empire, and that was built up in that persecuted Ireland, 
and by a singular providence of God it was preserved for the first 
primate who was to receive the Roman purple to dedicate St. Pat- 
rick's Cathedral of Armagh, His Eminence, Cardinal Logue. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 83 

"YOUR EMINENCE, I BID YOU WELCOME IN THE 
NAME OF NINE HUNDRED PRIESTS OF THIS DIO- 
CESE, IN THE NAME OF ALL SUFFRAGANS OF THIS 
PROVINCE; IN THE NAME OF THE LAITY, ONE MILL- 
ION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND OF THEM, I BID YOU 
WELCOME. I BID YOU WELCOME IN A LANGUAGE 
THAT WAS RICH IN LITERATURE BEFORE SHAKE- 
SPEARE OR CHAUCER HAD CAST THE ENGLISH LAN- 
GUAGE INTO ITS PRESENT FORM; I BID YOU WEL- 
COME IN THAT LANGUAGE WHICH EXISTED AND 
FLOURISHED AND HAD AN ELEGANT AND COPIOUS 
LITERATURE MORE THAN EVEN GREECE OR ROME 
HAS LEFT, AND MORE ELEGANT AND MORE COPIOUS 
THAN WAS THE ITALIAN WHEN DANTE WROTE; IN 
THE LANGUAGE WHICH YOUR EMINENCE IS SO FA- 
MILIAR WITH; IN THAT SWEET TONGUE OF YOUR 
FOREFATHERS I BID YOU WELCOME— CAED MILLE 
FAILTEr 

John J. Delany, ex-Corporation Counsel of the City of New 
York, was the next speaker. His was a powerful discourse, that 
took note of the fidelity of the immigrants to the faith that was 
in them. He said: 

"This magnificent celebration is an event of great significance 
for the clergy, but even of greater significance to the laity, for, 
while the clergy and laity unite in joyous praise of the devotion of 
our fathers and exult over the achievements of a century, the most 
important function of all this celebration, after that of thanksgiv- 
ing to God, is that it shall serve as an example to our posterity. 

"This occasion presents itself in a double aspect. It is not 
more the ending of one century than it is the beginning of 
another. In the midst of all our jubilation, the paternal instinct, 



84 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

strong in us, insists that we shall even forget ourselves that the 
greatest possible advantages may result to our issue who will 
succeed us in the century now opening. We, therefore, must make 
this episode a guide to those who come after us, so that it shall 
be to them like a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead 
them safely into the promised land. 

"It is well that we have a century to review, for it is one of 
the tenets of the philosophy of history that time must pass before 
one can properly understand the true meaning of any great move- 
ment of men. The principle of causation must be applied. One 
must not only see the result but must trace it backward in its 
course step by step to its origin before he is prepared to make a 
judgment which shall stand. Having done that, he is free to say 
who produced any great movement, and, if it be one of human 
affairs, upon whom shall properly be visited the blame or the 
glory." 

Mr. Delany referred to the immigration of Catholics from 
other countries in these words : 

"John Bach McMaster, in his history of the people of the 
United States, says that in the next decade the immigrant ships 
brought swarms of Irish to New York, and this continued gen- 
erally throughout the nineteenth century. During the entire 
formative period of the diocese, the Irish population maintained 
as large a percentage as that which they held in the earlier days. 
Other races came to our shores from time to time, each moving 
on to occupy throughout the country the field upon which they 
were to erect their own monuments to the faith. The earliest 
influx of German Catholics did not remain in New York, but 
with the sagacity of their race sought out the fertile lands of 
the West; went in groups, having the means to establish them- 
selves in their new homes, and many of the great dioceses of the 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 85 

West stand to-day as evidences attesting the attachment of the 
German Catholic for the ancient Church of his fathers, his un- 
swerving loyalty to the faith, and his persistent devotion to prin- 
ciple so characteristic of the race. 

"The Irish, perhaps unfortunately for their material welfare, 
as a rule settled where they landed; but they could not do other- 
wise, because when they landed they were, as a rule, penniless. 
They did not come in groups. They were, for the most part, un- 
schooled in any branch of artisanship, and sustenance for them- 
selves and very often for those that they had left behind them 
depended upon the incessant labor of their hands. Their fellow 
countrymen already here, although they generally tried to relieve 
their distress, found it, at first, impossible to do so. The spirit 
of religious bigotry was quite strong against them. Their num- 
bers disturbed the labor market, and many workmen were so 
enraged at this that they gave them a poor show of a welcome; 
but they lived, and the city grew, and to its growth they con- 
tributed with their brain and muscle. The mass of the American 
people were just and the Irish under these conditions prospered 
with the prosperity of the city which they had made their home, 
so that when the great Jesuit Father Kohlmann, then administrator 
of the diocese, established a new church, a cathedral, he placed it 
under the patronage of him whom the Irish venerate as their great 
apostle, St. Patrick. The chronicle of the century in this diocese 
begins here, and shows in a remarkable way the efficacy of the 
work of St. Patrick among his children in exile, in a land which 
was unknown in the days in which he lived. 

"The philosopher can distinguish a man even though he be 
defaced by misery and degradation, but the majority of men are 
not philosophers, and in those early days of Catholic life in New 
York many of its inhabitants looked down upon the Irishman as 



86 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

one to be despised as the offspring of an ignorant race. Of course, 
they did not know that his condition was due to enforced 
ignorance, that he belonged to one of the most highly intellectual 
races that has ever lived, a race whose learning had flourished in 
Western Europe for many centuries before any of the other 
Western or Northern European races had emerged from barbar- 
ism ; but, strange to say, it took the Irishman but one generation, 
and often not so long under the unshackled conditions of this free 
land, to show the genius of his race, and the sons of the old land 
within a short time after their settlement here proved their fitness 
for any post in life to which they might be called. 

"The Irishman had the tradition of the ancient learning of his 
people, and even from his poverty he gave freely to the last cent 
that the children might have the education which was denied to 
him. He loved human liberty, for his race had suffered under 
oppression for centuries, and no son of the soil ever rushed to a 
post of danger, even to the loss of his life, with greater alacrity, 
than did he to uphold the honor or maintain the security of the 
Republic which had given shelter to him and his people. 

"By precept and by example he taught his children a love of 
country and a love of learning which has never been excelled in 
the history of the human race. There is always a temptation to 
one to dwell upon the theme of the patriotism of the Irish and 
their love of knowledge, but such a theme could not be expanded 
to-night, for it is not the main feature of this occasion, and the 
main feature of this occasion is so important that it must not be 
overlooked. 

"When we survey the land around us, when we witness the 
greatest diocese in Christendom, the work of but one hundred 
years, the work largely of the generosity of the poor, we can 
understand that such an achievement could only be accomplished 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 87 

by the faith" that can move mountains, and whatever else the bit- 
terness of fortune or the providence of God permitted to be taken 
from that ancient race, their faith remained as their distinguishing 
characteristic through all the centuries." 

He then spoke of the effects of the faith in America. He 
said: 

"Some estimate of the efficacy of that faith can be made by 
the result which it has achieved, and some idea of its value may 
be gleaned from an appreciation of the price which our fathers 
paid to preserve it. They are sleeping peacefully in the regions of 
the dead. The most hopeful of them never could have dreamed of 
the glory of a day like this which we enjoy. We can truthfully 
say that but for them this glory could not have come to us. 

"It perhaps may not be becoming in us to speak of any con- 
tribution of ours to the conditions which exist around us, yet we 
cannot be wholly silent on some phases of the subject. It would 
be disloyal to our fathers if we did not affirm that we have not 
eaten and that we will not eat of the fruit which they have sown 
without making ample provision for those who are to come after 
us. Nor can we be silent on an occasion like this, for, if their 
avowal of faith was made in that day of sadness, it is due to 
them that we should make avowal of our faith in this day of joy, 
and, with all our unworthiness, recognizing the results which they 
have made for us, we deem it our most glorious privilege to be the 
physical channels through which may flow to future generations 
the faith for which our fathers sacrificed their all." 

In closing Mr. Delany paid a glowing tribute to the loyalty of 
the Irishman to his faith, and turning to Cardinal Logue, said : 

"I beg of you, Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh, when you 
return to the cradle land of our fathers, and when you draw 
your children around you to tell them how the tree of the old 



88 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

faith has flowered in the new land, to say that you saw men to 
the thousands gathered around their Archbishop, and the prel- 
ates and priests of their diocese, men upon whom fortune had 
smiled, who had been blessed with all the advantages of popular 
education, who are not ignorant of the ways of the world, and 
yet who avow that they feel as deep a devotion and as pure an 
affection for their priesthood as ever their fathers felt for the 
'Soggarth Aroon/ 

"You may also tell your people, Cardinal Archbishop of 
Armagh, that you heard us avow that the same homage which 
Patrick showed to Celestine, and which our fathers paid to Pius 
VII, we, in this new generation, pay to the Pontiff gloriously 
reigning, Pius X. Our greatest concern is that those who come 
after us shall be animated by the same loyalty of spirit and shall 
not be unworthy the long line that was ever true." 

When Mr. Delany mentioned the Pontiff's name the assem- 
blage rose and in a burst of enthusiasm that would have shaken 
a less stout building, gave public expression of its loyalty to the 
Papacy. The cheering lasted fully ten minutes. 

At the close of Mr. Delany's speech Mr. O'Brien presented 
Cardinal Logue and the audience again arose, greeting the Irish 
prelate with tremendous enthusiasm. Again and again the cheers 
burst forth, and the Prince of the Church was deeply affected by 
the demonstration. Cardinal Logue speaks clearly, readily and 
forcibly, and the English language flows from his mouth with 
sufficient brogue to make it charming. He was heard in every 
part of the hall. 

"I have been more than repaid for any little trouble I under- 
went, or for any risks I took, in journeying to this land," said 
the Cardinal. "It has been a great pleasure for me to meet so 
many of my country men and women, to see the social and re- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 89 

ligious positions they have attained." The Cardinal, in speaking 
of the prosperity of America, said : 

"There is another thing I believe, and I do not mean to speak 
in any spirit of criticism, that while this country is great in its 
institutions, there is yet the danger that it may be overcome by 
its own prosperity. There is the danger that prosperity may cor- 
rupt. It is my belief that if there is any antidote, any offset to 
the threatening danger, it is the principles and teachings and 
practices of the Christian religion. 

"I understand you have in your states no regard for divorce. 
That is one point upon which the Catholic Church does not, never 
can and never will yield. The very safeguard which, I think, is 
provided against an undue laxity in the marriage laws lies in 
the fact that there is so large a number of people who will stick 
to the principle which is necessary for the safety and well being 
of any country — the sanctity of the family. 

"And I am sure the Catholics of this country are prepared to 
live in peace and friendly relations with those about them of 
other religious beliefs. And none wishes this to be more than I. 
But Catholics cannot relinquish even a shadow of a principle, even 
to conciliate or obtain good will, no matter how important it may 
seem to be. 

"There is no other country so free as this, nor any whose 
institutions are so perfect. Nowhere else can a man say, Tf I'm 
kept down in the world it's my own fault.' 

"Nowhere are people more loyal than Catholic people. I ad- 
verted to that fact when talking to the clergy a few evenings ago. 
I told them that the Catholic Church is the Church of all times 
and all ages, and that it can adjust itself and accommodate itself 
to all conditions. That it can we plainly see in the loyalty which 
the government obtains from its Catholic citizens, and at the 



90 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

same time the loyalty which the Catholic Church obtains from her 
followers. 

"If you Americans are patriots, you have good reason to 
be patriots. You that love the old sod, either from personal 
acquaintance or from memory of your parents, have no reason to, 
and you do not, let that interfere with your love of your country. 
I hope and I feel certain that the United States will find no 
more faithful and loyal citizens. 

"Now, I have said more than I intended. I have only to 
renew my thanks to you all for the reception which you have 
tendered to me, to the Bishop of Cloyne and to the priests who 
accompanied us here. 

"You do not rejoice here more than we do in the fact that in 
no other country in the world has the Church gone ahead as 
here. And I hope and feel certain the Catholic Church will grow 
also. The faith of Catholics, I feel, will bear sufficient testimony. 

"I shall go home with a testimony of the heart, a testimony of 
the faith and devotion of the Catholic people in New York and 
America." 

Paul Fuller, the next speaker, said: 

"Among the blessed influences which the Catholic Church in 
the United States has spread over the land during the century 
whose happy close we are now celebrating is one which appeals 
to me more than any other. And this is the spirit of justice 
and peace and good will which it has awakened and kept alive by 
its continuous manifestation of the exalted ideals for which the 
Church stands; its unshaken fidelity to its mission of purifying 
human conduct and uplifting the human soul to the ultimate per- 
fection which the Master taught. The day is far distant when an 
American statesman could demand that the religious toleration 
which lay at the base of our free government should not be ex- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 91 

tended to those who believed in the headship of the Vicar of 
Christ, although those believers had imperilled life and fortune in 
the long struggle which made that government possible." 

Having pictured the growth of the Church here, Mr. Fuller 
said, in closing: "To this result men from every nation have 
contributed — Teuton, Celt, Slav and Saxon — the most diverse 
characteristics and temperaments have fused and melted under 
the compelling force of her divine doctrine into a united and 
progressive action which the world looks upon with admiration. 
In addition to the names which bear the stamp of the ever faith- 
ful Mother] of Saints and those from beyond the Rhine, all of 
whom will have their spokesmen, we have the successors of those 
earlier heroes of the French missions — Bishop Dubois, the third 
bishop of our own diocese; Chevrus of Boston, afterward 
Cardinal Archbishop of Bordeaux; Brute of Vincennes, Flaget 
of Kentucky, Du Bourg of Louisiana, De Goesbriand of Bur- 
lington, Forbin Jansan, the Belgian nobleman who exchanged 
the insignia of his rank for the cassock of the priest and who 
brought to New York the Fathers of Mercy, still laboring with 
oldtime zeal for the French population of this city — down to the 
lamented Archbishop Chapelle, whose long missionary service 
in New Mexico was crowned by his greater service in the new 
possessions which fell to us ten years ago. 

"And the American stock has not been wanting — I will not 
weary you with a catalogue; the names of Walworth and Wad- 
hams and Isaac Hecker and James Roosevelt Bayley are enough 
to show that the stock was worthy of the grafting." 

Dr. James J. Walsh, of Fordham University, who spoke of the 
educational system of the Catholic Church, said that an end had 
come in this country to the fads and fancies of higher education. 

"We have heard," he said, "the glorious story of the church's 



92 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

past in this country, and above all in our own magnificent Arch- 
diocese, and now we come naturally to the Church's present. Of 
course I cannot tell you all she is laboring to do for her people 
and for this glorious country of ours that men shall be happier 
and the privileges of liberty preserved to us. I cannot dwell even 
for a moment on the various phases so manifold and so thorough 
of the Church's glorious work for charity, for reformation, for 
uplift of our people in every possible way. When the Infant 
Church of Christ was given its mission it was, 'Go teach/ Ever 
since, the most significant feature of the Church's work for the 
world has been education. She is One, she is Holy, she is Cath- 
olic, she is Apostolic, but another note quite as important as any 
of the others given her by her Divine Founder is that she is a 
teacher of men. Catholic education, then, represents the most 
prominent feature of the Church's work, and never more so than 
in our own time and our own country and our great Archdiocese 
of New York. We have heard much in English speaking coun- 
tries of supposed opposition between the Church and education, 
but in the true history of education there is no factor more prom- 
inent than the Roman Catholic Church. This has been true now 
for over fifteen centuries, ever since the time when she came to her 
own .as the mistress of the civilized world in the fourth century. 

"In every new phase of education since, she has been a leader, 
and always among the most brilliant workers in each educational 
renewal her faithful sons have been the most prominent. This is 
not a pious exaggeration for centenary purposes but the simplest 
of facts that any one may find in any real history of education. 
When old Rome had run her course, and the decay that inevi- 
tably comes when the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer, 
when in the midst of luxury men lost courage and women virtue, 
when over-refinement slipped into a degenerate barbarism, some 




THE KOLY NAME SOCIETY P 

STAfl *I 
(From photo by Ai 




XG THE REVIEWING 



Steffen.) 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 93 

handful of unrefined barbarians came down from the North and 
rubbed out Rome's power — it was only a name and the people 
had gone to their own ruin unseeingly — a new phase of the 
world's history began in the order of Providence. Then came the 
Church's great mission in education. The barbarians were taken, 
and in the course of centuries were civilized, and the seeds of 
culture planted among them sprouted into the beautiful Gothic 
civilization. This is the sort of work that the Church has always 
done. This is what she did in South America, lifting up the 
savage Indian, not blotting him out as our North American colo- 
nists did. This is what she did in the Philippines, and the more 
we know of her accomplishment there the more do we appreciate 
what she accomplished. Within the last few years distinguished 
visitors to the Philippines who have had the opportunity to in- 
vestigate the wonderful uplift for these savages accomplished by 
the friars have been profuse in their compliments to the old 
Church and her wonderful educational success. 

"After all, that is what might be expected, for everywhere that 
has been the Church's work. Fortunately, when Rome was de- 
generating missionaries began their work in the distant West of 
Europe and St. Patrick's conversion of Ireland opened a new 
home for culture and civilization. In the next three centuries 
Ireland was the home of scholars by the thousand and the mecca 
of her students from all over Europe. St. Patrick's first thought 
when Christianity gained a foothold was for education. Wherever 
a great saint has worked the conversion of a people this has 
always been the first thought. Everywhere in Ireland a mission- 
ary Saint was the founder of a magnificent school. This is no 
idle boast, but simple matter of fact. So much was this the tradi- 
tion of the time that even St. B rigid, the great woman saint of 
the Irish, our dear Mary of the Gaels, founded a school at Kil- 



94 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

dare in which there were three thousand students. Strange is it 
not to find co-education in a magnificent form should have 
existed in Ireland nearly a milennium and a half ago. There was 
the segregation that has been found necessary even in our modern 
universities for good work, yet the two sexes were apparently 
taught by the same professors, and the wonderful development of 
the arts and crafts that took place at Kildare was doubtless due 
to the mutual influence of cultured men and women. 

"What is true for the Apostles of Ireland is true for the 
apostles of every country of Europe. They were apostles of edu- 
cation as well as of religion. Always schools went hand in hand 
with Christianitay, and education was considered the right hand 
of the Church in her work of uplifting the people. When great 
monarchs came to realize how much education might do for their 
people they made it their special task to encourage monasteries, 
to honor the Monks, to found further monastic schools, and to 
give Church institutions generous support in education. This is 
true for Charlemagne in the eighth century, for Alfred in the 
minth, and for St. Louis in the thirteenth. It is amusing to hear 
people talk about the degeneration of the monasteries and the 
laziness of monks and the ineptitude of religious when men like 
Charlemagne and Alfred and Louis, and women like Queen Mar- 
garet of Scotland and the good Queen Maud of England could 
not do too much for them. 

"When the universities were founded in the thirteenth century 
they were developments of Cathedral schools, they continued to 
be ecclesiastical institutions for the next three centuries. The 
greatest teachers in them were members of the religious orders. 
St. Thomas Aquinas, Blessed Albertus Magnus, St. Edmund of 
Canterbury, Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, Raymond Lully are but 
typical examples. Practically all of the students were clerics be- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 95 

cause that was the way that they could best gain leisure for study 
and freedom from the exactions of war lords and military neces- 
sity. The Church secured educational leisure as well as furnished 
the opportunities for its satisfaction. 

"When the new Learning came in once more it was the 
Church that encouraged the study of the classics, and during the 
Renaissance period most of the Popes were among the great 
scholars of the time and liberal patrons of education, of printing, 
and of the New Learning. One of the objections sometimes made 
is that ecclesiastaics spent too much time in studying the human- 
ities and not enough at their pastoral duties. How curious are the 
ways of objectors against the Church. If the pastors devote them- 
selves to their flocks they are ignorant and uncultured; if they 
devote themselves to learning and culture they are lacking in pas- 
toral zeal. The fact of the matter is that as far as men can draw 
the line in such things ecclesiastics have in the average kept the 
middle course of appropriate interest in things of the mind and 
of the spirit with wonderful success." 

Referring to the progress here in America he said: "When 
the genuine history of education here in America will be written 
a generation or more from now one of the most interesting chap- 
ters in it will be that of Catholic education. It will tell how the 
poorest of the churches, yet the one having the most members 
who needed most education, dared to ignore the liberal provision 
for education made by the State and assumed the burden of edu- 
cating her own children because she would have them Christians 
first and scholars after, and because she would not have their 
minds educated without having their wills trained nor their in- 
tellects cultivated without training of character. She knew that 
the education of mind and of will was not a thing that could be 
done apart and that unless great religious truths were taught to 



96 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

the young the manifold interests of life shut out their real signifi- 
cance in those who were older. It was no mere theory that was 
at stake, but the religious life of her children. There was no 
hestitation then at the sacrifices that had to be made. It seemed 
utterly foolish and sure to prove a failure to attempt the mainte- 
nance of a system of education independent of the State. Great 
pecuniary sacrifices had to be made by people who could ill afford 
them. But Catholicity is a religion of sacrifices, and priests and 
peoples were willing to make them. Probably the hardest sacri- 
fice was involved in the feeling that for some time the lack of the 
funds which the State could give so liberally might make the 
teaching less valuable. The best was none too good for Catholic 
children in the minds of their parents." 

In closing his scholarly remarks Dr. Walsh referred to the 
present tendency of educational institutions. He said : 

"Every educator of prominence in this country sees the mis- 
take that has been made, and our large institutions are going 
back. Back where? one may ask. Back to the good old-fash- 
ioned system of a solid group of studies as the basis of educa- 
tion. Back to where Catholic conservatism kept our Catholic 
colleges all the time, with discipline of mind and the necessity 
for hard work as the watchword; with the classics recognized as 
the most valuable element of education for their training value. 
With education not for information but for power. With culture 
as the aim and not the faculty to make money as the end of edu- 
cation. We are coming to a place where we shall not be in 
danger of having boiler factories in universities and all sorts of 
practical subjects in halls of education, deceiving ourselves with 
the idea that this will give culture or any real education. 

"It is well to emphasize that it is this old-fashioned system 
that the conservative spirit of the Catholic Church has so con- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 97 

stantly maintained in Catholic institutions for higher education. 
We have not experimented foolishly with the elective system. 
We have realized the value of discipline and have kept the 
classics as the basis of all real education of true humanitarian 
uplift. In the brief time that has been at my command this is 
something of what may be said about Catholic education in this 
country. Its value is only beginning to be realized at its true 
worth. A generation from now the precious conservative influ- 
ence of the Church in education, her wonderful fulfilment of the 
mission of her divine master, 'Go teach/ will be writ large in 
characters that all must read. Already something of this is begin- 
ning to be felt beyond the boundaries of the Church itself. Every 
one realizes that the influence of the other Christian sects is 
dwindling away. We have heard much of the passing of Protest- 
antism, and the cause of it is the failure of religious education 
among the sects. Not in triumph do we say it but in sorrow that 
any phase of Christianity should be submerged in irreligion. The 
situation is growing easier to read every day, and those with 
least sympathy talk of the coming Catholicism. The contribution 
that this dear old Catholic Church of ours has to make to Ameri- 
can life is a magnificent system of education, founded on the 
personal influence and the unselfish lives of her religious, and 
with an influence for uplift that only those who have been closely 
in touch with it can realize, but that is making itself felt every 
year more and more for the enlargement of our national life and 
for the perpetuation of this glorious Republic of ours so long 
as it shall continue to be the home of liberty for all." 

The ever-eloquent Cockran was the last speaker, and for nearly 
an hour he held the audience under the spell of his golden tongue. 
Whatever may be said of Cockran's politics, no living man may 
question his Catholicity. He is a Catholic by faith, by conviction, 



98 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

and his every-day life presents a splendid example of a practical 
Catholic now engaging the attention of the American public. 
He set forth the ills of the present day and pictured the triumphs 
of Catholicity in the future, in these words : 

"Even more imposing than the record of unparalleled success 
which this centenary records is the still wider success which it 
foreshadows. The increase of more than one-hundredfold of 
Catholics in the territory created an Episcopal See one hundred 
years ago, now a province with some eight Suffragan Bishops; 
the churches that have been erected, the religious communities 
that have been founded, the charitable institutions that have been 
maintained, the schools that have been built and filled, without 
aid from the State but in the teeth of its indifference and some- 
times its opposition, without encouragement from wealth or 
fashion, but in spite of its frown, make it certain that when the 
next centenary is celebrated there will be within the same limits 
more than twenty millions, and within the whole country more 
than one hundred million souls, holding our faith and fashion- 
ing their lives under its precepts. This is not an attempt at 
prophecy, but the result of very close calculation. It assumes but 
a fivefold increase where we have actually seen an increase of 
one-hundredfold during a similar period. 

"How will the evolution of our political system be affected by 
this vast body of Catholics in cur citizenship ? To me the answer 
is obvious. The political system under which the Church has 
achieved a growth without parallel since the great schism of the 
sixteenth century is a system which must be strengthened, per- 
petuated, made absolutely secure by a further extension of 
Catholic faith and Catholic influence. The civic lesson of this 
centenary is that this Republic of ours will be firmer on its foun- 
dations, wider in its influence, richer in its blessings at the end 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 99 

of the century which is opening than it is now at the end of the 
century which has just closed. 

"The rising tide of socialism, the product of godless schools, 
a loosened marriage tie, threatens the integrity of the republican 
government and the existence of organized society. But if these 
elements of danger remain, clouding the horizon of the Republic, 
this magnificent gathering, the religious ceremonies which have 
preceded it, the imposing demonstration which will follow it on 
Saturday, combine to show how these clouds will be dispelled. 
The faith from which rational republicanism was born is the 
source by which it must be preserved. The growth of Catholi- 
cism which this centenary makes certain will avert the danger 
that threatens the Republic, cure the evil that afflicts it, extend the 
benefits that bless it. 

"The danger that threatens this nation is socialism, the evil 
that afflicts it is divorce, which by loosening the marriage tie is 
undermining the foundation of the Christian state; chief among 
the benefits that bless us is education, through which the life 
of the Republic must be saved. 

"As Catholicism grows all danger of Socialism must be de- 
feated; that social leprosy, divorce, will be expelled from our 
system; the scope of education will be extended until it becomes 
in very fact the exhaustless fountain of meritorious citizenship. 

"The antagonism between Christianity and Socialism is in- 
herent and, therefore, irreconcilable. It is not new. It is an old 
as Christianity itself. 

"Socialism, however it may be disguised from its own votaries, 
is an attempt to revive that servitude in labor and despotism in 
government against which Catholicism has always contended, 
and after eighteen centuries of strenuous conflict has finally over- 
thrown. Christianity seeks always to improve the moral ex- 



ioo THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

cellence of the individual; Socialism to extend the power of 
government. Christianity concedes man may sink to degrada- 
tion almost inconceivable, but holds that he is also capable of at- 
taining such excellence that God Himself could assume human 
form and nature without any impairment of His divinity. The 
mission of redemption entrusted to the Church by the Divine Re- 
deemer was not to affect directly the political institutions of 
nations, of tribes, or communities, but to convert and improve the 
individual human units that compose them. Not a word was 
addressed by our Lord to a ruler, a state, a government or a 
political division. Every word that fell from His divine lips was 
addressed to the individual, warning him, whether he were slave 
or emperor, that there was one domain in which his authority 
was absolute, and that was his own conscience. For every exer- 
cise of it he must render strict account. Others he was for- 
bidden to judge; himself he was directed to judge rigorously 
and the rule of life prescribed for him was that next to loving 
his God above all things he must love his neighbor as himself." 

Touching on education Mr. Cockran said : 

"While we insist that no education is complete that does not 
embrace religious instruction, we are quite free to admit that the 
state by its own agents cannot furnish this moral teaching with- 
out establishing some state religion, and this Catholics would re- 
gard as the greatest calamity that could overtake the country, to 
be resisted by all the weapons of citizenship. We believe that 
education should be compulsory on the rich as well as on the 
poor. The state should prescribe the limits of instruction which 
it considers essential to its own safety, but parents should always 
have the right to select the agency by which the instruction should 
be imparted. 

"The state should have the right to inspect the schools selected 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 101 

by the parents and ascertain for itself that its requirements are 
fully observed. With that power of inspection is linked the obli- 
gation of support by the state. Wherever instruction is afforded 
boys and girls in those branches which the state prescribes as 
necessary to its citizenship, the state should pay for it. If in 
addition to this curriculum which the state prescribes, instruction 
is afforded in other branches, in music, in fencing, in dancing, 
or in religion, that is something with which the state should not 
concern itself. It should not pay for them. Neither should it 
penalize an educational establishment which imparts them by ex- 
clusion from the scope of public inspection and the benefit of 
contributions from the public funds. 

"No one will deny that the religious instruction given in Cath- 
olic schools redounds to the benefit of the state, yet to-day the 
Catholic is penalized. He is compelled by the state to support a 
system of education which he considers inadequate, and by his 
conscience to support another which he considers essential to 
prepare his child for manhood and citizenship. 

"It is said that the existing system is non-sectarian, and that we 
who would overthrow it aim at sectarian education. I deny it. 
Were the actual system truly non-sectarian we would be its chief 
supporters. It is not non-sectarian. It is agnostic. I defy any- 
one seeking to establish an agnostic system of education to 
change in one particular the system maintained by the state now. 
We are the non-sectarians. We ask for ourselves nothing that 
we would not extend to all others. We believe that Catholics 
should be left free to select Catholic instructors for their children, 
and the Jews to select Jewish instructors, and the Presbyterians to 
select Presbyterian instructors, and the Methodists to select 
Methodist instructors, and the Episcopalians to select Episco- 
palian instructors. Agnostics should have the same right as others 



102 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

if the existing system were not godless enough to satisfy them. 
We are willing that the agnostic shall share the school fund, but 
we are not willing to give him exclusive right to the whole of it. 

"While we hold that the existing school system, is sectarian, 
inequitable and inadequate, yet we can avoid its worst features 
by assuming special burdens, and until the sense of justice among 
the American people relieves us from this injustice we shall bear 
it cheerfully. The Church here discharges the role that she has 
always filled since the establishment of modern civilization. 

"The cordial sympathy with which our non-Catholic fellow 
citizens have greeted this celebration is, then, one of the most in- 
spiring results of the centenary, and a strong assurance that 
republican institutions are secure. The Christian sects no longer 
quarrel violently over every point of difference between them. 
They are more disposed to rejoice over every feature of the faith 
they hold in common. We rejoice above all that every man, to 
whatever sect he may belong, joins in one prayer. It is repeated 
in every edifice dedicated to religious worship and at every fire- 
side where a family gathers for devotion. It is uttered in the 
Hebrew synagogue, in the Presbyterian meeting-house as well as 
in the Catholic Church. It is a feature of the Episcopal ritual 
and of the extemporaneous exhortation of the Methodist min- 
ister; it rises to Heaven with the incense burnt before the Cath- 
olic altar and with the hymns sung by Presbyterian congrega- 
tions. It is said with fervor by the mother by the side of her 
babe at dawn. It has a place in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 
It mingles with the petition which the Catholic maiden breathes 
to the Blessed Virgin at nightfall, and that prayer is, 'God bless 
and prosper and protect our land.' 

"The universality of that prayer attests the patriotism of our 
citizens and furnishes the strongest ground for trust in the 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 103 

confidence of republican institutions. We Catholics know our 
government cannot perish because we have the promise of the 
Almighty God that against the word on which it is built the 
gates of Hell shall never prevail. 

"Who, then, looking over this, and recalling the events of the 
last few days and the marvellous progress of Catholicism they re- 
view, can doubt for a moment the future of this Republic, built 
on God's Word, sustained and supported by an ever growing tide 
of Catholicism? 

"What if the skies over our heads be clouded by doubts and 
fears! What if unrest makes itself manifest on every side in 
strikes, disturbances, riots and exploding bombs, the heavens are 
not as dark now as they were when the Word in which we be- 
lieve was finally spoken, and the Divine Author, hanging on the 
Cross, said, Tt is consummated/ while the sun was blotted out 
at midday and the walls of the rocking temple were rent, and 
the shuddering earth gave up the dead bodies of men. who had 
cultivated it, before receiving into its bosom the dead body of the 
God who had created it. We know that dreadful darkness was 
dispelled forever when on the third day afterward the empty 
sepulchre was found by the disciples and holy women, filled with 
dazzling light, the stone rolled away from its opening and the 
risen triumphant Lord standing near it, who when saluted by 
Mary Magdalene was recognized with the one word, 'Rabboni,' 
'Master.' That light has encircled the world ; before it despotism 
fails, slavery disappears, tyranny perishes. Here it shines in 
fullest radiance. In this Republic Jesus is indeed the Master, 
the only Master that its citizens acknowledge; where His sov- 
ereignty is recognized, it is exclusive. There justice reigns im- 
partially, liberty is assured, prosperity measureless and ever 
growing." 



104 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Mr. Cockran was loudly applauded at the close of his speech, 
and then the assemblage rose and closed the night's rejoicing by 
singing the hymn of thanksgiving, "Holy God, We Praise Thy 
.Name." 

"HOSANNAS" OF CHILDHOOD. 

Hundreds of persons stood in Fifth avenue and the cross 
streets adjoining St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday morning to 
get a glimpse of the 6,500 boys and girls ranging in age from 
seven to fourteen years who assembled there to sing their grati- 
tude for the work accomplished by their ancestors in the faith. 
At the close of the service Cardinal Logue remarked : 

"I told the fathers yesterday that the future of Christ's Church 
rested with America and that Rome would ever be its centre. 
After witnessing such a sight as this I am confirmed in my 
opinion. It is a splendid tribute to the loyalty of Catholic 
fathers and mothers in New York and the good teachers to whom 
they have intrusted their precious burdens." 

The assemblage represented, it was said, about one-tenth of 
the numerical strength of the parochial school system of the 
Archdiocese. The children trooped to the Cathedral from every 
section of the city, and all were singers. "Our little Melbas and 
Carusos," one priest remarked good naturedly. They had been 
practising for the service several weeks and sang the parts of 
the mass in Latin with ease. 

Promptly at 11 o'clock Cardinal Logue, preceded by surpliced 
priests, bishops and archbishops, entered the sanctuary and 
occupied the throne. Bishop Burke, of Albany, was celebrant of 
the solemn mass, Monsignor Lynch was assistant priest, the 
Rev. Thomas A. Thornton deacon and the Rev. Joseph F. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 105 

Smith subdeacon. Fathers Thornton and Smith are superin- 
tendents of the parochial school system in the archdiocese. 

The Very Rev. J. Raymond Meagher, O. P., preached a 
sermon for the little ones, and afterward Archbishop Farley 
mounted the pulpit and spoke to them. "You are happy, dear 
children," he told them, "in the privilege that is yours to-day in 
assisting at this beautiful service, the like of which has never 
before been witnessed in this Cathedral. His Eminence Cardinal 
Logue, who is our honored guest, wishes ttie to tell you that the 
memory of this day is one of the happiest that he will carry back 
to dear old Ireland. I thank you and wish to express my own 
pleasure at what I have seen and heard this morning, — seven 
thousand children singing in unison and harmony without a 
single apparent discord. Such a thing has not, I believe, been 
paralleled in this city or country. 

*T hope every child who is here to-day," said His Grace, "will 
remember it as long as he or she lives. What a privilege has 
been yours to sing the praises of God in this splendid Cathedral 
in the presence of the Prince of the Chuch of Ireland and on such 
an occasion ! This is the first Centennial observance in the history 
of the Church in this diocese. How happy you are to have been 
called here, then, this morning! You will not see another cen- 
tennial. Before that time comes it is likely we shall all have 
passed away. Cherish this memory, then; tell your children and 
the generations that come after you about it. Let the thought of 
the honor and privilege conferred upon you help to keep you 
loyal to the Church. The Church is the continuation of the 
Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Keep the faith always, no matter 
what may be your lot in life. God bless you. Before you leave 
you will have the blessing of the Cardinal Primate of Ireland. 
May that blessing draw down upon you the fullest measure of 



106 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

God's mercy, and may you all, in years to come, prove faithful 
to the Church which has done so much for the lambs of Christ's 
flock." At the close of the mass there welled up from 6,500 little 
throats a hymn of thanksgiving, in which prelates joined. During 
the singing the Irish Prelate passed along the main aisle and 
imparted his blessing to the children. 

The Rev. John J. Kean, rector of the Church of the Holy 
Name and chairman of the Committee on Schools, was in 
charge of the gathering, and Cardinal Logue and Archbishop 
Farley praised him for his successful management. Associated 
with Father Kean on the committee were the Rev. Dr. John 
McQuirk, the Rev. William Livingston, the Rev. J. T. Mclntyre, 
the Rev. J. B. Curry, the Rev. J. M. Considine, the Rev. T. 
F. Myhan, the Rev. P. J. Minogue, the Rev. H. Nieuwenhuis, 
the Rev. T. J. McCluskey, S. J., the Rev. Fidelis Speidel, 
C. SS. R., the Rev. Joseph L. McCabe, O. C. C, the Rev. 
Capistran Claude, O. M. Cap., and the Rev. T. McMillan, C. S. P. 
Father J. B. Young, a Jesuit, taught the children the music of 
the mass and directed the junior choir of St. Francis Xavier's, 
which occupied the choir loft. 

During the day the Archbishop received the following letter 
of congratulation from Mayor McClellan : 

'To His Grace, the Most Reverend the Archbishop of New 
York. 

"Your Grace: In offering to you and to the Archdiocese of 
New York my most sincere congratulations on its centennial 
anniversary, I wish also to record the city's appreciation of 
that which the Roman Catholic Church has done for New York. 

"She has lent her kindest hand to city, State and Nation in 
caring for an immigration that has provided to us an industrious, 
law-abiding, God-fearing citizenry. She has made her children 
here patriotic as well as pious. She has baptized, nursed, fed 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 107 

and taught them, sent her priests and her nuns with them into 
our battles, and with it all, the better Americans they were 
the more she loved them, and the more they loved her the better 
Americans they became. 

"It has been thus, not only during the hundred years you 
celebrate, but from the moment Carroll signed the Declaration 
until to-day, when every Roman Catholic church in the diocese 
is bright with the country's flag. 

"It is a great force for right that you marshal; a great power 
for good that you display in this centenary. You may be more 
proud of the force and the power in the knowledge that America 
needs them as you need them, ever to stand as a breakwall 
against anarchy and its black offspring. 

"As your Church has stood for law and order — and that 
relation now means more to the City of New York than it 
has ever meant — may she still stand for them ready, steady, 
unflinching, uncompromising, in all of our Republic's centuries 
to come. Respectfully, 

"GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, Mayor." 



CHAPTER VII. 

PIUS X.'S BENEDICTION. A NOTABLE GATH- 
ERING AT THE CATHOLIC CLUB. 



(Friday, May I.) 

Archbishop Farley made public yesterday the following 
message from the Pope. It was in answer to one sent by 
His Grace assuring the Holy Father of the loyalty of 
Catholics here in New York: 

"The Holy Father thanks you for your telegraphic 
dispatch expressing good wishes of Cardinals, Arch- 
bishops, Bishops and priests assembled in New York on 
the auspicious occasion of the hundredth anniversary of 
the erection of the Diocese of New York, and gladly 
grants to the Most Eminent, the Most Reverend and 
Reverend fathers and faithful of your diocese, so noted 
for steadfast attachment to the Holy Church and to the 
See of Peter, his apostolic benediction. 

"CARDINAL MERRY DEL VAL." 

108 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 109 

Public officials and men prominent in all professions gathered 
last night at the Catholic Club to meet the distinguished prelates 
who are in New York participating in the centenary that will 
close to-morrow afternoon with a procession of forty thousand 
laymen, headed by the Catholic Club and commanded by Major 
Thomas H. Barry. Cardinals Gibbons and Logue, Archbishops 
Forley, Ireland, Glennon, Quigley, Moeller and Bruchesi, the two 
Apostolic Delegates, Monsignor Falconio of Washington and 
Monsignor Aversa of Mexico, Bishops Browne, Colton, O'Connor, 
Gabriels, McFaul and Burke, all attired in the raiment of their 
several ranks, were among the prelates at the reception. Edward 
J. McGuire presided. Archbishop Farley said a few words of 
greeting. 

"When this Club was first opened, nearly twenty-five years 
ago," he said, "I was so impressed with the occasion that I con- 
sidered it, next to the opening of the Cathedral, the most im- 
portant event in the history of our diocese, and that impression 
has grown upon me more and more each year. Whenever I wish 
to honor a visiting prelate in a special way I bring him to the 
Catholic Club, and he never fails to be impressed. I welcome 
His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore, and 1 
tender an equally warm welcome to His Eminence the Cardinal 
Primate of All Ireland, who has come across the ocean to lend 
the dignity of his personality and his position to our celebration." 

Cardinal Gibbons was long and generously applauded when 
he was presented by Mr. McGuire, the president, as the next 
speaker. He said: 

(Stenographic Report in Catholic News.) 

"I thought that I came, like my brother Cardinal, as a mere 
spectator to participate in this joyous festivity; but I speak from 
my heart to-night when I say that I have seldom spent a happier 



no THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

portion of a week than in contemplating the glorious festivities 
which are now drawing to a close. 

sf l represent the oldest archdiocese and the oldest diocese in 
Baltimore. I have the pride and honor of representing the first 
see of this great country of ours. A hundred years ago Baltimore 
sat solitary and alone, without a single child. To-day, your 
Eminence, she glories in the possession of nearly one hundred 
children and grandchildren, all of whom have come from her 
womb; and many of the daughters, and particularly her oldest 
daughter, New York, has far outgrown the mother, both in the 
number of her progeny and in the splendor of her ecclesiastical 
and of her charitable institutions. And no one rejoices in this 
prosperity of New York and her sister dioceses more than does 
the venerable mother, as she looks on and sees the advance of 
religion in this great country of ours. Permit me to say, in the 
words of Holy Writ, 'Many daughters have acquired wealth and 
glory; but thou, O Baltimore, after all, hast something to be 
proud of/ (Great applause.) 

"All that I ask is that the daughters and the granddaughters 
will pay homage to the mother, that they will recognize the 
mother as their mother, cherish her greatly and never fail to 
contemplate upon her sacred brow those glorious memories and 
traditions which she has so well kept. 

"Now, I earnestly hope that the mother and daughters will 
always live in the future in that perfect harmony which actuates 
our country. To-day, Most Reverend Father, we have a hundred 
prelates, a hundred Bishops, thousands of clergy, and in no 
country on the face of the earth to-day is there a stronger har- 
mony, a more fraternal union, than is manifested in the Church 
of the United States. (Great applause.) 'Behold how good and 
pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell in unity/ But let us 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. in 

never forget, my dear friends, to whom we are indebted, under 
God, for the blessings that we enjoy. We owe it to our country, 
we owe it to the freedom which we possess to think. If we were 
hampered here as the Church is hampered in other countries we 
would not have the beautiful record to give that we have to 
exhibit to-day to his Eminence of Armagh. 

"Plato, the great philosopher, thanked the gods for two 
things; first, that he had Socrates for his teacher, and that he 
was born and reared in a country so civilized as Greece. We 
have reason to rejoice more than Plato that we have for our 
teacher Christ, Who is the Wisdom of God and the Power of 
God, and Whose knowledge surpasses that of Socrates as much 
as the sun of the day surpasses the flickering lamp. But we have 
reason to be thankful, my dear friends — most of you are sons of 
Ireland — we have reason to thank the Lord that we breathe here 
the air of l : berty; that we can profess and practise our faith 
without any hindrance whatsoever; that in the manifestation of 
those great ceremonies that took place in your grand Cathedral 
and elsewhere there was no military satrap that dared to approach 
and to interfere and to dictate what you should do; when we 
had our beautiful festival and celebration on Tuesday no civil 
functionary should dare to walk through your Cathedral and 
dictate what should be preached and what should not be preached. 
We are as free as the very air of Heaven here, and I thank the 
Lord for it, and every day I bless God that our lines are cast 
here in pleasant places. (Applause.) Here, I say, we enjoy 
liberty without license, your Eminence, and authority without 
despotism; and our glorious country, typified by these beautiful 
flags around us, holds out to us the aegis of her protection without 
interfering with us in the inalienable rights of conscience which 
we exercise here. And it is only by contrast, perhaps, that we 



112 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

can form an adequate idea of the blessings we enjoy. I remem- 
ber—I am getting old now in the ministry — I remember some 
forty years ago, in 1875, when I was travelling with the venerable 
Archbishop Spalding, returning from the Vatican council — I 
think I am the oldest survivor of that council here now — when 

I was returning we were the guests of the Bishop of A in 

Savoy. I admired the splendid palace in which the Bishop re- 
sided and the fine surroundings. I saw a sentinel marching up 
and down in front of his palace as the guard of honor, and I 
congratulated his lordship on the privileges that he enjoyed in 
France, for the honors that were bestowed upon him; and he 
shook his head and remarked to me in sorrow of heart, Con- 
signor, all is not gold that glitters. I can't build as much as a 
sacristy without receiving permission from the central authorities 
at Paris.' 

"Here, my dear friends, it is quite different. Here a Bishop 
and the clergy have direct, spontaneous relations with the people; 
that is the secret of our success, that we have no salaried officers, 
and for my part I say with all my heart that I hope the day 
shall never come when our clergy shall be salaried, when they 
shall be supported by the government, because it is very much to 
be feared, if our clergy are supported by the government, that 
the government by way of compensation will insist on dictating 
what doctrines we ought to preach and what doctrines we ought to 
withhold; but I hope the day will always continue to dawn such 
as we now possess, my dear friends and fellow citizens, when 
the clergy will bestow upon the people as they ought to bestow, 
because I say it here, that the future of the Church depends upon 
the personal purity and holiness and charity of the clergy, and the 
people have eyes open to judge us and to gauge our character; 
the future of the Church, I say, depends upon us, and I earnestly 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 113 

hope that the clergy will always continue in the future as they 
have in the past to bestow upon the people their devotion, their 
time, their patience, their zeal, and will pour forth, if necessary, 
their life's blood, and when they will receive in the future, as 
they now receive and have received in the past, as His Grace cer- 
tainly can say, the obedience and the loyalty and the devotion and 
the freewill offerings of the devoted and beloved people." 

The Irish Cardinal followed his American colleague. He said : 
''Although I did not expect to be called upon to make an 
address, I wish to say that it has been one of the greatest pleasures 
of my life, which is now approaching its close, to come here and 
to witness the scenes of the past week. What I have seen will 
be an inspiration to me during the remainder of my life. I was 
prepared for great material progress when I started, but was not 
prepared for the exhibition of strength of faith that I have seen. 
The meeting of the laity at Carnegie Hall last night was one 
of the grandest and most consoling sights I have ever witnessed. 
I have found here a state of things that speaks well for the 
future, and that is the strong bond between the clergy and the 
laity. As long as the laity is close to the clergy you will have 
the blessing of God in temporal as well as spiritual matters. This 
bond of unity between the clergy and the laity has impressed me 
greatly, and it is one of the most pleasing impressions that I will 
bring back with me to Ireland — that is, if I ever do go back. 
What I would like would be to get some little place here and 
settle down, because when I get back to Ireland I will have a 
lot of work to do. 

'T have said over and over again that the future of the Church 
lies in this country. We, on the other side, are getting worn out, 
while here you have youth, strength and vigor. Some of you gen- 
tlemen are quite young. You know St. Patrick began to preach 



ii4 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

when he was sixty, and he preached for sixty years. You real 
young men might live to see another centennial in New York. 
If you do, you will see the Church in New York and America the 
most flourishing in Christendom." 

Ex- Judge Joseph H. Daly was the last speaker. In the course 
of his address he said : 

"Among the works of this Diocese in the last hundred years 
is this society, which enjoys the distinction of being the only one 
of its kind in the United States. This is not boastfully, but 
humbly spoken. The Catholic Club is the fruit of simple devo- 
tion. It was founded by the members of the Xavier Sodality. 
It has grown with the Church in this city. This week we are 
celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the 
Diocese of New York. When the diocese was sixty years old 
this society was born. At first, like the plants destined for a 
vigorous growth, its beginning was small; as the diocese ex- 
panded it flourished. Why? Because in its organic law it an- 
nounced as its principle, Devotion to the Holy See. In this great 
Catholic unity it was born, it has lived and it has been blessed. 
Wherever your Eminence has been greeted with the fervent elo- 
quence of Catholic men in this diocese you have heard the voices 
of the members of the Catholic Club. Words could not tell you 
more nor make you feel more at home to-night. 

"As to the celebration in which your Eminence takes so 
gracious a part it would be superfluous to add one word to the 
eloquence whose music must still linger in your ears. Summed 
up in a sentence, the history of a hundred years is this: Where 
at the beginning of that period the pilgrim of faith saw but a 
desert we now behold a populous and flourishing region. Then 
he looked behind and afar off to the shrines of a distant father- 
land, and now his descendants behold clustered temples grander 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 115 

than were ever pictured in their fathers' dreams. Who has 
wrought the transformation under God, the All-powerful, the 
All-seeing, the All-mericful? The answer is, the humble Catholic 
priest and the humble Catholic layman. It is of these I would 
say a word. 

"If there are ten millions of Catholics of every race, from 
every clime, of every tongue, in the United States to-day, if in 
this city alone there are twelve hundred thousand Catholic souls, 
it is the blessing of the Almighty upon the effort of the self- 
sacrificing Catholic pastor and priest. We know their struggles, 
their valor in the good faith, their dearly bought victories, the 
early death that has claimed so many. Thousands upon thou- 
sands of the young, the brave, the ardent, have been called away 
before the dawn of victory. But upon their brows has shone the 
light of the eternal day. In them the mourning multitudes have 
beheld the ministering angels pictured by the poet as sent by the 
Living Father to help the sinful children here below: 

"'And is there care in Heaven, and is there love 

In heavenly spirits for these creatures base 
That may compassion of their evils move? 

There is: else much more wretched were the case 
Of men than beasts ! And oh, the exceeding grace 

Of highest God that loves His creatures so 
And all His works with mercy doth embrace, 

That blessed angels He sends to and fro 

To serve to wicked man — to serve His wicked foe! 



a 1 



How oft do they their silver bowers leave 
And come to succor us that succor want! 
How oft do they with golden pinions cleave 
The flitting skies like flying pursuivant, 



Ii6 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Against foul fiends to aid us militant! 

They for us fight and watch and duly ward, 
And their bright squadrons round about us plant 

And all for love and nothing for reward ! 

Oh, why should Heavenly God for men have such regard?' " 



Interest in the ceremonies of the centenary celebration was 
divided yesterday between St. Patrick's Cathedral and Holy 
Cross Church, in West Forty-second street. At the Cathedral 
there was a pontifical mass of requiem at n o'clock for the 
deceased prelates and priests of the diocese. Bishop John J. 
O'Connor, of Newark, was the celebrant; Monsignor Swift, as- 
sistant priest; the Rev. Dr. Sinnot, deacon, and^the Rev. William 
B. Martin, S. T. L., sub-deacon. Auxiliary Bishop Cusack 
delivered a eulogy of the dead. Archbishop Farley and all the 
visiting prelates, except the Irish Cardinal, participated in the 
services, and, as on the day previous, the Cathedral was crowded 
to the doors. The liturgical ceremonies of the centenary 
observance will close this morning with a pontifical votive mass 
of the Sacred Heart. Bishop Colton will be the celebrant, and 
the sermon will be preached by the Rev. William O'Brien 
Pardow, S. J. 




THE ARCHBISHOP OF 

THE IR 

(From phot 



an 




YORK AND HIS GUEST, 

CARDINAL. 

Aide & Steffen.) 



CHAPTER VIII. 



A MAY DAY VISION OF CATHOLICISM IN 

THE NEW WORLD. 



(Saturday, M'ay 2.) 

With a procession of sixty thousand laymen, headed by 
Major General Thomas H. Barry, the week's rejoicing for 
a century of Catholic activity will be formally ended this af- 
ternoon. It will be escorted by a group of public men — members 
of the Catholic Club, that will include Supreme Court Justices 
Giegerich, Davis, Dayton, O'Gorman, Goff, ex-Justice M. J. 
O'Brien, Eugene Philbin, E. J. McGuire, W. B. Cockran, 
Charles V. Fornes, John D. Crimmins, Thomas F. Ryan and 
others. It will be reviewed by Cardinals Gibbons and Logue, 
Monsignor Falconio, Archbishops Ireland, Bruchesi, Ryan, 
Glennon, Farley and other dignitaries of the American Hier- 
archy, from a grandstand in front of the Cathedral. All of 
the sixty thousand will walk, excepting only the grand marshal, 
General Barry, his staff and the marshals of each division. 

Thomas J. O'Donohue will be chief of staff to General 
Barry, Charles G. Treat, assistant chief of staff, and John W. 
Furlong, adjutant general. John F. Doyle will be chief marshal 

117 



n8 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

of the first division. Louis V. O'Donohue will be his chief of 
staff, Thomas Crimmins, assistant, and M. V. Theall, adjutant. 
The aids will be L. C. Connolly, Leo J. F. Rooney, J. Donahue, 
E. B. Gordon, Duncan G. Harris, Dr. W. J. Maroney, Dr. 
Stanley J. Brady, Dr. Joseph O'Dwyer, Dr. Edward L. Hyme 
and Peter A. Lalor. 

Roderick J. Kennedy will be chief marshal of the second 
grand division. E. P. Gilgar will be his chief of staff, Edward 
McGlynn, assistant, and John Whalen, adjutant general. John 
Montgomery and J. J. Harrington will also be assistants. Mr. 
Kennedy's aids will be W. J. Kane, Frank W. Smith, John J. 
O'Brien, W. C. Whitmore, Thomas F. Smith and Joseph Pukl. 
John Byrne will be chief marshal of the third, and last, grand 
division. 

According to the arrangements completed yesterday, the 
procession will start at I o'clock from Washington Square, 
and will march north in Fifth avenue to St. Patrick's Cathedral, 
where in passing the reviewing stand salutes will be rendered 
by the grand marshal and the chief marshals of grand divisions, 
their staffs and all other officers by uncovering. Men in ranks 
will not salute, but will turn their heads and eyes to the right 
when their company is opposite the south end of the grand- 
stand, and will keep their heads and eyes in that position until 
they pass the north end of the stand. The route of the column 
after passing the reviewing stand will be north in Fifth avenue 
to Fifty-seventh street, where organizations will move to the 
east or west and disband. 

As soon as the escort of the procession reaches Central 
Park, General Barry will join the dignitaries on the grandstand. 

Cardinal Logue rested all day. The liturgical ceremonies of 
the centenary celebration closed yesterday morning at the Cath- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 119 

edral, with a pontifical votive mass of the Sacred Heart. Bishop 
Colton, of Buffalo, was the celebrant, and the Rev. William 
O'Brien Pardow, S. J., preached. In the course of his sermon 
he said: 

"The Catholic who is not a faithful Catholic is as a dead 
branch. How pitiful it is that people have to be driven to 
church ! 

"It is our duty, the duty of each one of us, to bring back 
the dead branches of Catholicism. If there is one of us single 
souls that has not been lifted up even to the third heaven, who 
has not profited by the great happenings of this week, then 
you and I have not done our work. Great hosts there have 
been here this week. There is yet that other host, the dead 
branches, who should be with us. 

"Our great Pope is the workingman's Pope. He is the 
brother of mankind, the brother of the humble gardener in the 
Vatican gardens. He is the friend of the workingman, and 
this brings the workingman close to St. Peter. It's a great 
lesson the Pope gives, that of a daily communion for his 
own people. 

"There are great legislatures, great armies, great forces, 
but there is one legislator whose laws defy them all. And that 
is the occupant of St. Peter's chair, whose whole thought is to 
lift the humble up to God, and who preaches in season and out 
of season the daily communion. We must put ourselves in close 
relation to the divine power house.' 



» 



CHAPTER IX. 

FORTY THOUSAND AMERICANS MAKE PUB- 
LIC PROFESSION OF LOYALTY TO THE 

PAPACY. 



(Sunday, May 3.) 

Never before in the history of religious activity in this 
country has there been such a public confession of faith in 
Catholicity as that which New York witnessed yesterday from 
its proudest avenue, from its house tops, from trees and 
hotels and from places the safety of which was not assured by 
either the Police or Building Department. 

Forty thousand Catholic laymen — some figured sixty thousand 
— ranging in years from twenty to sixty, passed in review before 
Archbishop Farley, who had as his guests of honor on the 
grandstand in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral the Irish prelate, 
Cardinal Logue, and a company of distinguished bishops, priests 
and professional men that included Bishop Colton, Bishop 
Browne, Monsignors McCready and Hayes, the Rev. J. V. Lewis, 
the Rev. Dr. D. J. McMackin, President McGowan of the 
Board of Aldermen, Eugene Philbin and ex-Justice O'Brien. 

It was a climax to a series of rejoicings for a century of 
Catholic activity that will live long in the minds of those par- 
ticipating in it and the multitude that viewed it. 

120 




MAJOR GJE£ 

Leading forty thousand America 

closed the centennial by 

loyalty tj:o 







.L, BARRY 

tholics who, on May 2, 1903, 
public profession of 
Papacy. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 121 

The Catholic Church invested the solemn services at the 
Cathedral with all the solemnity of its ceremonial and its priest- 
hood, but it remained for American men and American manners 
to give to the final scene in the rejoicing a democratic simplicity 
that would appear to have surpassed in impressiveness the 
grandeur of the Roman ritual. With such a moral force as that 
in yesterdays demonstration Pio Nono might have held a firm 
grip on the Papal States or a Gregory brought to the foot 
of Rome the dissenting multitude in the eastern countries of 
Europe. The loyalty of the old Templars and the fortitude of 
the Knights of St. John were outstripped by the public confession 
of faith of American Justices of the Supreme Court, men 
prominent in the learned professions, writers and publicists, 
tradesmen and day laborers. 

Cardinal Logue, who has seen and participated in processions 
at Rome and elsewhere, said to a group of newspaper men 
when the last company of the Catholic host had passed : 

"I never saw such an impressive gathering in all my life, 
and I never again expect to witness such a demonstration of 
loyalty to the Catholic faith. I have seen processions in various 
Catholic countries, at Rome and elsewhere, but nothing to equal 
this. It speaks well for the country to have such a body of men, 
and it must indeed make your good Archbishop proud to behold 
such a loyal host. I can say no more, except to venture a 
prophecy that your country is not likely to see such a spectacle, 
at least not for many years to come." 

It was recalled that the demonstration had only been surpassed 
in the last half century by the demonstration on the return 
of Admiral Dewey from the Spanish-American War and, still 
earlier, the procession during the festivities in commemoration 
of Columbus's discovery of America. The procession moved 



122 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

from Washington Square at exactly I o'clock, and at a quarter 
of two o'clock the mounted police leading the marching bodies 
were seen from the grandstand at the Cathedral. At that 
moment the chimes on the Gothic pile pealed out "The Star 
Spangled Banner," and a mighty cheer went up from the thou- 
sands congregated on the stand and jammed in the avenue and 
side streets. A moment later Major General Barry, mounted 
on a charger and his only adornment a sash of blue silk, 
was seen a block away from the Cathedral. A crowd at the 
Democratic Club began the applause, and by the time General 
Barry reached the reviewing stand a cheer went up from sixty 
thousand men, women and children on the avenue and in the 
side streets. The General saluted the Archbishop o& New York 
and his guest, the Cardinal, and then led onward the mighty 
host. 

Playing a martial air, the Seventh Regiment Band led the 
escort of the procession, several hundred members of the Cath- 
olic Club, wearing silk hats and frock coats, and at their head 
Edward J.. McGuire, president. This body, in which were justices 
of the Supreme Court and representative men in all the pro- 
fessions, was greeted with tremendous enthusiasm when with 
martial dignity it passed by the reviewing stand. As the 
well known public men paraded by, the Archbishop named them 
and their vocations for the Irish Cardinal. In the first rank 
were Eugene Philbin, Dr. Francis J. Quinlan, James I. Slevin, 
Morgan J. O'Brien, Charles V. Fornes, Herman Ridder, Justice 
Giegerich and John D. Crimmins. 

The marchers were divided into three grand divisions, and 
the next in order, following the Catholic Club, was the first 
grand division, led by John F. Doyle, chief marshal, and his 
aids. The chief marshals were mounted and wore blue sashes. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 123 

The St. Francis Xavier cadets and the Holy Name societies from 
various parishes were in the first division. The Holy Name 
Society, because of its noble purpose, which is to restrain the 
use of the name of Jesus as a byword, was received with an 
enthusiasm that was second only to that which greeted the 
Catholic Club. Cardinal Logue and all the prelates joined in 
the cheer that went up from the multitude. 

Trie Fourteenth Regiment Band headed the second grand 
division, in which were fully thirteen thousand men, the leading 
bodies being the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of 
Hibernians and the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association. 
Roderick J. Kennedy was chief marshal of that division, and 
when its front ranks reached the Cathedral its band began 
that martial air of the churches, — "Onward, Christian Soldiers," 
and tremendous applause swept across Fiftieth street, and was 
taken up by the thousands in the avenue and on the grand- 
stand. Here and there large groups of women and children sang, 
and the echoes of 

"With the cross of Jesus 

Going on before" 

died away among the trees in Central Park. 

Marshal Kennedy saluted the dignitaries as he passed. The 
De La Salle cadets were next in order and then came thousands 
of members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, their standard 
bearers carrying aloft a banner of green, on which were pictures 
of St. Patrick and Archbishop Farley. 

A storm of applause greeted the numerous councils of the 
Knights of Columbus as they passed in review, headed by their 
splendid uniformed body. Cardinal Logue was particularly 
pleased with the appearance of the knights. On, on they marched, 
the civilians like companies of regulars, and those of more 



124 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

military knowledge with a celerity and evenness that won ex- 
pressions of approval from General Barry. And all were long 
and mightily cheered. The enthusiasm below Forty-second street 
had no sooner subsided than the multitude north of that section 
took up its dying notes and carried them on until they resolved 
into a tremendous expression of approval. 

In the magnificent spectacle was a company of negro Catholics, 
representing the Church of St. Benedict the Moor. There were 
scarcely more than half a hundred, but there was no mistaking 
the color of their souls. They were loyal Papists, and they 
marched like Christian warriors. 

"The Pope's Black Regiment" exclaimed an enthusiast, and 
the vast throng yelled with delight. Suddenly the black Catholics 
turned their faces toward the dignitaries. The old Prince of the 
Church was deeply impressed. It is doubtful if any other body 
in the procession received such an ovation as those Catholic 
negroes. 

John Byrne was chief marshal of the last division, in which 
there were more than fifteen thousand, the chief organizations 
being the Clason Point military cadets, St. Anthony's cadets 
and detachments of the various parishes. In nearly every in- 
stance the rectors were at the head of their respective parish 
organizations, and all shared in the outburst of love and devotion. 
The crowds at the grandstand who were familiar with the facts 
reserved a special cheer for Monsignor Murphy, to whose ability 
and hard work much of the success of the festivities was due. 

The procession, which started at Washington Square, pro- 
ceeded to Fifty-seventh street, where the various companies 
disbanded or marched to their home stations. An interested 
spectator was Mrs. Russell Sage, who viewed the marchers 
from No. 632 Fifth avenue. General Barry and the members 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 125 

of the general committee joined Archbishop Farley and his 
guests on the grandstand and remained there until the last of the 
long line was in sight. 

The parade passed the reviewing stand in the following order : 

Platoon of Police. 

Band. 

Grand Marshal, Major General Thomas H. Barry. 

Staff. 

Thomas J. O'Donohue, Chief of Staff. 

Charles G. Treat, Assistant Chief of Staff. 

John W. Furlong, Adjutant General. 

Aides. 

General Committee. 

Escort to Grand Marshal. 

The Catholic Club of New York — Edward J. McGuire, President. 

Rev. Matthew A. Taylor, Chaplain. 

Aides to President — Joseph T. Ryan, Charles Murray. 

Founders, ex-Presidents and Life Members. 

Army and Navy Members. 

Companies forming thirty-two in number, sixteen abreast, and 

commanded as follows : 

Company A — John B. Mayo, Captain. 

The Board of Management of the Catholic Club. 

Company B — John G. O'Keeffe, Captain. 

Company C — Michael E. Bannin, Captain. 

Company D — Henry Ridder, Captain. 

Company E — William J. Amend, Captain. 

Company F — Joseph T. Brady, Captain. 

Company G — Arthur Kenedy, Captain. 

Company H — John E. O'Brien, Captain. 

Company I — Edward J. Cornelis, Captain. 

Company J — John F. Cross, Captain. 

Company K — Frank J. Cunnion, Captain. 

Company L — Edward H. Daly, Captain. 

First Grand Division — John F. Doyle, Jr., Chief Marshal, 



126 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Staff and Aides. 

St. Francis Xavier Cadets. 

The Holy Name Society. 

Second Grand Division. 

Roderick J. Kennedy, Chief Marshal. 

Staff and Aides. 

Knights of Columbus. 

De La Salle Academy Cadets. 

Ancient Order of Hibernians. 

The Catholic Benevolent Legion. 

Bohemian Catholic Societies. 

Third Grand Division. 

John Byrne, Chief Marshal. 

Staff and Aides. 

Clason Point Military Academy Cadets. 

St. Anthony Cadets. 

Detachments from the several parishes of the Diocese of 

New York. 

It was exactly 5 :20 o'clock when the last company passed the 
grandstand. 

Inspector Walsh was in charge of the police at that point. 
Hardly had the last ranks reached Fiftieth street than the solid 
mass marched on the grandstand, and for a few moments it 
looked as if there would be serious injury done to some of 
the enthusiastic. Inspector Walsh had foreseen just such a crush 
and had lined Fiftieth street, from Fifth avenue to Madison 
avenue, with a cordon of bluecoats. A cry went up from the 
crowd, "The Cardinal ! The Cardinal !" and every man, woman 
and child struggled to get a glimpse of the man in the red 
robe. Inspector Walsh led the way, and before the crowd 
could realize it had the Irish Prince of the Church at Madison 
avenue. But the crowd was in pursuit and succeeded in seeing 
his bent figure slowly mounting the stairs at the Archbishop's 
house. 




THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 127 

Despite the multitude that viewed yesterday's demonstration, 
variously estimated at between half and three-quarters of a 
million, there were no serious accidents reported. Several 
women fainted near the grandstand, a little girl was bruised in 
the crush and other minor mishaps occurred. What might have 
been a serious affair occurred at Fifty-first street and Fifth 
avenue, where several hundred were seated or standing on top 
of a temporary structure, and under it as many more. A few 
steps away, at a private house, another crowd had gathered on a 
low balcony. It gave way, and those on it fell to the street on 
top of one another, but not one of them was seriously hurt. 



BARRY OF THE ARMY. 

One of the pleasant incidents of the Centenary week was the 
announcement, at Washington on April 29, of the promotion of 
Brigadier General Barry to the rank of Major General. That 
officer needs no word of praise here. The army of forty thousand 
fellow members of his faith, whom he led triumphantly out Fifth 
Avenue on Saturday, May 2, will not soon forget its Grand Mar- 
shal. And what Barry thought of these men he made public on 
the night of May 14 at a dinner given in his honor by the Cath- 
olic Club at its fine clubhouse, in Central Park South. He said, 
substantially, that whenever Almighty God choosed to "call him" 
he hoped and prayed that it might be when he was commanding 
such a body and in defence of American institutions. 

General Barry came to New York from Cuba at the request of 
Archbishop Farley, and on a furlough that Secretary Taft assured 
His Grace was not limited. During his stay here he was received 
into the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and two days before he 



i28 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

returned to his post he was presented a life membership badge 
of the Catholic Club. That occurred at the dinner given, in his 
honor at the club on the night of May 14. Dr. Francis J. Quinlan 
made the presentation address. Archbishop Farley, Justice O'Gor- 
man and John Whalen spoke, and Edward J. McGuire, president 
of the club, was the toastmaster. 

General Barry was born October 13, 1855, *n the First Ward 
of the City of New York, and attended the parochial schools. He 
won his appointment to West Point by competition, and was sent 
there by R. B. Roosevelt. He is the only General now in the 
service entitled to wear badges of the Indian wars, the Spanish- 
American War, the Philippine insurrection and the China Relief 
Expedition. Because of his present position in the army and his 
conspicuous part in the centennial the following record of his 
service may be found of interest. It has been approved by the 
General in a letter addressed to the compiler of this book : 

Graduated from the public schools to the College of the City 
of New York, 1872 ; appointed cadet at the United States Military 
Academy, 1873; graduated, 1877, and appointed second lieutenant, 
7th Cavalry ; served with the 7th Cavalry in Dakota and Montana 
until September, 1880, when he was transferred to the 1st In- 
fantry; served in Texas, i88o-'82; appointed regimental quarter- 
master and promoted to first lieutenant March 11, 1882; captain, 
February 25, 1891 ; served in Arizona, i882- , 86 ; California, 1886- 
'93; South Dakota, i890-'9i, taking part in campaigns against 
Apaches in Arizona and Sioux in South Dakota; on duty in the 
office of the Secretary of War, D. S. Lamont, i893- , 97; appointed 
major and assistant adjutant general January 29, 1897, and served 
as adjutant general, Department of Columbia, until the Spanish- 
American War; assigned as adjutant general of the Philippine 
Expeditionary forces, May, 1898; appointed lieutenant colonel 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 129 

and assistant adjutant general, United States Volunteers, and 
adjutant general, 8th Army Corps, June 22, 1898; lieutenant 
colonel and assistant adjutant general, United States Army, 
January 10, 1900; brigadier general, United States Volunteers, 
June 10, 1900, to June 30, 1901; colonel and assistant adjutant 
general, United States Army, July 15, 1902; detailed to General 
Staff Corps, April 17, 1903, to take effect August 15, 1903; briga- 
dier general, United States Army, August 18, 1903; major gen- 
eral, United States A,rmy, April 29, 1908; served in Philippines, 
August, 1898, to February, 1900; with China Relief Expedition 
in China, as brigadier general, United States Volunteers, August- 
September, 1900; chief of staff, Philippine forces, November, 1900, 
to July 20, 1901; recommended for brevet of colonel for gallant 
and meritorious services in battle of Manila, February 4-5, 1899; 
adjutant general and chief of staff, Department of the East, May, 
1902, to August, 1903 ; commanding Department of the Gulf, with 
headquarters at Atlanta, Ga., i904-'o5; observer with Russian 
Army during Russo-Japanese War, to December, 1905; detailed 
as member of the General Staff Corps and assigned as President 
of the Army War College, December 4, 1905, and assistant to chief 
of staff, April, 1906, to February, 1907; attended the grand 
manoeuvres, German Army, September, 1906 ; member Joint Army 
and Navy Board, and Board of Ordnance and Fortifications, 1906- 
'07 ; in command of army of Cuban pacification since February 26, 
1907 ; Provisional Governor of Cuba, January 2^ to March 8, 1908. 



130 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 



A WEEK LATER. 

On Sunday, May 9, there was read in all the Catholic churches 
in the Archdiocese the following communication from the Arch- 
bishop : 

"Reverend Dear Father: 

"The celebration of the centenary of the erection of the See 
of New York has passed into history, to be ever memorable as 
an epoch making event in the progress of the Church in the 
United States. 

"The occasion gave birth to an enthusiastic manifestation of 
inspiring faith combined with ardent patriotism that our country 
has rarely, if ever, witnessed, 

"Every feature of the centennial festivities was carried out 
with perfect detail and complete success, which left nothing to be 
desired from the opening day of general thanksgiving in all the 
churches to the closing noon. For all this we have especially to 
thank; our Father, the Giver of all good gifts ; and, at the same 
time, we desire to express our appreciation for the efficient ser- 
vices of the right reverend and reverend clergy and our devoted 
laity. 

"The committee in charge of the various divisions of the work 
of preparation labored with a zeal, intelligence and success for 
which we wish to make public acknowledgment. 

"It was the verdict of the visiting prelates from far and near 
that nothing was wanting to bring before the world the best the 
Church has to show of the power and beauty of her organization. 
It has elicited the admiration of his Eminence the Cardinal Pri- 













ARCHBISHOP HUGHES. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 131 

mate of All Ireland, who states that he will carry .back to the Isle 
of Saints memories that will never die and inspirations from 
which all might find much to learn. 

"We cannot overlook the great courtesy and careful attention 
extended by the entire press in recording the different phases of 
the centenary celebration. 

"The city authorities, to whom we are so much indebted for 
their willing co-operation and efficiency in maintaining such splen- 
did order, deserve our warmest thanks. 

"God grant that the generation which will have come and 
gone before another century has dawned may be found worthy 
of their forefathers. This is the prayer of 

"Yours very gratefully in Christ, 

+ "JOHN, 
"Archbishop of New York " 



CHAPTER X. 

AN IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENT. SOME OF 
THE "STAR" WRITERS WHO REPORTED 
THE PROCEEDINGS FOR GREAT 
NEWSPAPERS. 

"Edmund Burke said that there were Three Estates in Parlia- 
ment, but in the Reporters* Gallery yonder there sat a Fourth 
Estate more important far than they all!' 

— Carlyle's "Heroes and Hero Worship." 

Nowhere in the world is there such a fine appreciation of the 
value of a news item as here in New York, and events of national 
interest are reported in the great dailies, morning and evening, 
with an accuracy that is only surpassed by the rapidity with which 
the facts are gathered, written, edited, put into type, revised and, 
finally, presented to the public. There is no need here to set forth 
the numerous opinions of what constitutes "news." Sections of 
the Press have an honest difference concerning the manner in 
which "news" should be presented, but they invariably agree as to 
the importance of occasions such as the one here recorded. 

The observance of the century of Catholic activity in the city 
of New York was of interest not alone to the great body of that 
denomination within the limits of the city, but to the numerous 
millions of that faith scattered the length and breadth of the 

American continent. And the newspapers of this town rose tQ 

132 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 133 

the occasion with a dignity that has been duly commended by the 
Archbishop of New York. 

Some of the cleverest newspaper writers of the country were 
assigned to report these proceedings, and at the general thanks- 
giving ceremonies at the Cathedral, ■ on April 28, there were 
present the correspondents of the leading papers of London, Paris, 
Berlin and Rome and two writers representing daily papers of 
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The compiler of this record is 
the least of the splendid group of fellows that "covered" the 
centenary proceedings. He has, however, a certain pride in his 
vocation and sufficient vanity to assure himself that he is of 
an observing nature. He would be an uncommon specimen of 
his tribe did he neglect to say a word here for the "opposition/' 
He observed that the body of men representing "The Herald," 
"The World," "The Times," "The Evening Post," 'The Press," 
"The American and Journal," "The Globe," "The Mail" and "The 
Telegram" was a credit to the newspaper world, and each member 
of it especially worthy of the publication he represented. 

"The World" was represented by Mr. James Sleaght and Mr. 
W. B. Maloney. Mr. William P. McLaughlin, city editor of that 
paper, gave much of his valuable time to a personal supervision 
of the reports and the preparation of daily schedules, human in- 
terest stories and illustrations. Mr. John W. Harrington "cov- 
ered" the centennial for "The Herald," Mr. T. Francoeur and Mr. 
Charles Henry Meltzer for "The American," Mr. J. P. Jones for 
"The Press," Mr. D. N, Carroll for "The Sun," Mr. Burton F. 
Browne for "The Globe," Mr. W. S. Quigley for "The Evening 
Mail" tand Mr. Lawrence Perry for "The Evening Post." The 
City News Association is a little brother to that greatest of all 
newsgathering organizations, The Associated Press. It "covers" 



134 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

every nook and corner of New York from sunrise to sunrise, and 
invariably appreciates the importance of proceedings such as those 
recorded here. Mr. Frank Robinson was its special representative, 
and he had several assistants. From the moment the Irish Car- 
dinal landed on Manhattan Island until the last company in the 
procession of May 2 had passed the reviewing stand the City 
News flooded the newspaper offices with accurate reports of every 
detail of the ceremonies. 

The news item is a record of an incident or an event. 
Seldom, if ever, is it intended that it should represent the private 
opinion of the editors and publishers of such great morning news- 
papers as Trie World, The Times, The Tribune, The Herald, 
The Staats-Zeitung or Mr. Hearst's publications. The editors 
and proprietors of those dailies reserve the editorial page to 
make known their views of important questions of the day. 
Nearly every newspaper in the City of New York took occasion 
of the festivities here chronicled to present, in an editorial, an 
honest opinion of the Catholic Church and its influence upon 
society the world over, with a closing word on the progress 
of that faith in America. The writer has selected for this 
volume the editorials that appeared in The Sun, The Herald, 
The Tribune, The Times, The American, The Evening Journal, 
The Evening Sun, The Staats-Zeitung, The Evening Mail, The 
Evening Post and The Globe, and they are reprinted here with 
the permission of the publishers. 



[(The Sun, Sunday, April 26, 1908.) 

JOHN HUGHES, AMERICAN. 

Dear Sir: Unable to attend the meeting at Union Square in 
consequence of indisposition, I beg* leave to state my sentiments 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 13S 

on the subject of your coming together, in the following words: 
Ministers of religion and ministers of peace, according to the 
instructions of their Divine Master, have not ceased to hope and 
pray that peace and Union might be preserved in this great and 
free country. At present, however, that question has been taken 
out of the hands of the peacemakers, and it is referred to the 
arbitrament of a sanguinary contest. I am not authorized to 
speak in the name of any of my fellow citizens. I think so far 
as I can judge there is the right principle among all those whom 
I know. It is now fifty years since, a foreigner by birth, I took 
the oath of allegiance to this country under its title of the 
United States of America. As regards conscience, patriotism or 
judgment, I have no misgiving. Still desirous of peace, when 
the Providence of God shall have brought it, I may say that 
since the period of my naturalization I have none but one 
country. In reference to my duties as a citizen no change has 
come over my mind since then. The Government of the United 
States was then, as it is now, symbolized by a national flag, 
popularly called "The Stars and Stripes." This has been my 
flag and shall be to the end. I trust it is still destined to display 
in the gales that sweep every ocean and amid the gentle breezes 
of many a distant shore, as I have seen it in foreign lands, its own 
peculiar waving lines of beauty. 

May it live and continue to display these same waving lines 
of beauty, whether at home or abroad, for a thousand years 
and afterward as long as Heaven permits, without limit of dura- 
tion. JOHN HUGHES, 

Archbishop of New York. 
New York, April 20, 1861. 



THE CENTENARY OF THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF 

NEW YORK. 

In the history of religion there has been no such example 

of growth as that which has been exhibited in the Catholic diocese 

of New York, whose first Bishop, Richard Luke Concanen, was 

consecrated in Rome April 24, 1808, an event which is to b« 



136 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

appropriately commemorated to-day. Let us review as briefly 
as possible the remarkable record of this diocese. 

It is well known that before our Revolutionary War there 
were next to no Catholics in New York. Early in the eighteenth 
century penal legislation was enacted against them. Every 
Catholic priest was condemned to perpetual banishment, and to 
harbor one was to incur a fine of £250 and to stand in the pillory 
for three days. By another law Papists and Popish recusants 
were prohibited from voting for members of the Assembly or 
any other office whatever. In 1756 Bishop Challoner, the Vicar 
Apostolic of London, reported to the Propaganda with reference 
to New York that "if there be any straggling Catholics they can 
have no exercise of their religion, as no priest ever comes near 
them." A marked change in public opinion, however, was brought 
about by the loyalty of American Catholics to their fellow colonists 
in the struggle for independence, and by the fact that France 
and Spain, our allies against England, were Catholic Powers. 
Eventually the laws against the Catholics were abolished in the 
State of New York, and in 1786 a Catholic Church edifice was 
dedicated in the city of that name. By the first decade of the 
nineteenth century the number of Catholics in the United States 
had increased so considerably that in 1808 John Carroll, Bishop 
(afterward Archbishop) of Baltimore, secured from Pope Pius 
VII. bulls subdividing that see and erecting the sees of New 
York, Philadelphia, Boston and Bardstown. We should here 
mention that the New York diocese originally comprised the State 
of New York and the eastern part of New Jersey. The Bishop- 
elect of New York, Concanen, who as we have said was consecrated 
at Rome in April of the year last named, never occupied his see, 
for in 1810 he died in Naples while awaiting a ship. Four years 
later Dr. Connolly, a subject of Great Britain, with which the 
United States was then at war, was appointed and consecrated 
Bishop of New York. His arrival a year or two afterward was 
followed by the departure of the few Jesuit fathers, and only four 
priests remained in the vast diocese, two of whom were with the 
Bishop in the city, which itself contained at the time fourteen 
lor fifteen thousand Catholics. New York received its third 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 137 

Bishop in the person of John Dubois, consecrated at Baltimore 
in 1826. When he took possession of his see he computed the 
Catholics of the city at 25,000, and throughout the diocese at 
150,000. Churches, clergy and schools were lacking for so large 
a flock. The city itself had but six priests, and all the rest of 
the diocese but four; the one modest chapel in Brooklyn, built 
in 1823, was visited occasionally by priests from New York. Dur- 
ing the tenancy of the see by Bishop Dubois there was a violent 
outbreak of anti-Catholic prejudice in New York, and early in 
1836 appeared a vile attack on Catholic convents by one Maria 
Monk, which did for Knownothingism what "Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
was to do for the Abolition movement. Age and worry induced 
Bishop Dubois to seek the aid of a coadjutor. The Rev. John 
Hughes was chosen for the post, and his consecration took place 
in New York in January, 1837. 

There now came upon the scene a great and strong churchman, 
who was to leave the impress of his mind and will on the Catholic 
Church not only of New York city and State but of the whole 
country. Within two years he broke, so far as the city was con- 
cerned, the connection between the \ Catholic religion and the 
system of secular incorporation of church property in the names 
of lay trustees, a system which had never realized the anticipa- 
tions of Archbishop Carroll of Baltimore, whom circumstances 
had compelled to tolerate it. No sooner had this battle been 
won than Bishop Hughes undertook a voyage to Europe for 
the purpose of studying educational methods. At this time (1839) 
there were free schools attached to each of the eight Catholic 
churches in the city and more than 5,000 children attended them. 
These Catholic schools of New York city, however, received no 
assistance from the school funds, and an agitation for the redress 
of the injustice began, which culminated in a general meeting 
of Catholics in March, 1840, at which a memorial to the Legislature 
was adopted. On his return from Europe Bishop Hughes assumed 
the headship of this movement and brought about the overthrow 
of the Public School Society, a private corporation which had 
absorbed the city's school fund and which had been the principal 
opponent of Catholicism and of Catholic teaching. In 1840 the 



138 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Bishop of New York brought about the foundation of a seminary 
in Pordham, and two years later some thirty students were there 
engaged in pursuing the theological course. Meanwhile con- 
gregations and churches were fast increasing throughout the 
diocese. In the year last named the diocesan synod was attended 
by fifty-four priests. The burden was becoming too heavy for 
Bishop Hughes to bear alone, and in the fifth Provincial Council 
of Baltimore he solicited the aid of a coadjutor, and for the po- 
sition recommended the Rev. John McCloskey, president of St. 
John's College, at Pordham. The request was granted by the 
Holy See, and in March, 1844, the appointee was consecrated. We 
should here recall that by the firmness and boldness of Bishop 
Hughes the city of New York escaped the anti-Catholic riots 
which caused a reign of terror in Philadelphia. 

In 1846 the diocese of New York had 114 churches, 109 priests, 
a seminary, a college, and in the city itself there were over 
100,000 Catholics. In the following year two new dioceses were 
erected out of the original one, namely the diocese of Albany 
and that of Buffalo. These new erections reduced the diocese 
proper in New York to the counties of New York State south of 
the forty-second degree of latitude and to the eastern part of 
New Jersey. Thus reduced it had eighty-eight priests, a theo- 
logical seminary with twenty-two students, a Jesuit college, an 
Academy of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and eleven institutions, 
such as schools and asylums, in the care of the Sisters of Mercy 
and Sisters of Charity; the city itself had seventeen churches, 
which were far from being enough to accommodate the number 
of Catholics. 

Up to 1846 the Archbishop of Baltimore had been the only 
metropolitan in the United States; but in that year a second 
archiepiscopal see was erected in Oregon, and a year later a third 
one at St. Louis. It was not until 1851 that Pope Pius IX. made 
New York an archdiocese, with the Bishops of Albany, Buffalo, 
Hartford and Boston for its suffragans. On receiving the notifica- 
tion of his promotion Archbishop-elect Hughes went to Europe 
to receive the pallium from the hands of the Sovereign Pontiff, 
and there is reason to believe that our Federal Government, whicti 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 139 

then had a representative at Rome, suggested to the Vatican his 
elevation to the cardinalate. With such a man as Archbishop 
Hughes at the head of the archdiocese it is not surprising that 
churches and priests should have been multiplied with amazing 
rapidity. In 1853 the dioceses of Brooklyn and Newark were set 
off from that of New York, leaving to the parent see only the 
city of New York and the counties of "Westchester, Putnam, 
Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and Richmond. 
Within that district there were about fifty churches and more 
than a hundred priests. The Catholics of the archdiocese were 
estimated at about 280,000, more than half of them being in the 
city of New York. Between the years 1854 and 1861 the Archbishop 
held three provincial councils with his suffragans, the Bishops 
of Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Hartford, Brooklyn, Newark and 
Burlington, Vt., at which much judicious and necessary legislation 
was enacted. In 1858 he laid the cornerstone of St. Patrick's 
Cathedral, and five years later undertook the establishment of 
another institution, which has grown to great importance and 
influence, the Protectory of Westchester, a home and school for 
destitute children. 

If Hughes's administration of his diocese had shown him to 
be a great churchman the Civil War proved him to be a great 
patriot. His patriotism was evinced not only by his urging the 
Irish military organizations of New York to march to the front 
and by his private correspondence and published writings on the 
war and its causes, but also by his semi-official diplomatic mission 
for the purpose of securing the neutrality of Europe during the 
conflict. "There arose a danger," says John Gilmary Shea, the 
well known Catholic historian, "of the recognition of the Con- 
federate States by the governments of Europe, and after the 
Trent affair there came the fear that England might go even 
further." The Washington Government earnestly desired Arch- 
bishop Hughes to go to Europe as envoy of the United States. 
He absolutely declined to accept any official position, but ex- 
pressed a willingness to use every effort to prevent the prolongation 
of the war and a greater effusion of human blood. In Paris he 
had conferences with the members of the Ministry, and in an 



140 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

Interview with the Emperor Napoleon III. he urged that sovereign 
to act, should it be necessary, as arbitrator between the United 
States and England in the difficulty which had arisen. The in- 
fluence exercised by the Archbishop in the councils of France at 
that juncture is undeniable, and was fully recognized at "Washing- 
ton. One *of his last public acts was to address his flock in 
New York in favor of the Government at the time of the draft 
riot. In Archbishop Hughes, who died in January, 1864, American 
Catholics lost the most remarkable, most vigorous ,and most 
patriotic prelate that the country had known since John Carroll, 
of Maryland. 

Between the second Plenary Council, which met at Baltimore 
in 1866, and the establishment of the Apostolic Delegation from 
the Vatican to the Catholic Church in the United States, Cathol- 
icism underwent an extraordinary expansion, in which the diocese 
of New York conspicuously shared. At the first named date 
there were in the Republic but seven archiepiscopal sees and 
provinces. In 1895 the number had been doubled. The multiplica- 
tion of archbishoprics presupposed or entailed an increase of 
bishoprics. As a matter of fact in 1866, at the second Plenary 
Council, the Catholic dioceses of the United States numbered thirty- 
eight; in 1895 they were seventy- three, almost twice as many. 
The figures bear witness to a phenomenal progress. 

At the close of the second Plenary Council in 1866 the great 
see of New York was occupied by Archbishop McCloskey, who 
on the death of Archbishop Hughes had been transferred from 
the bishopric of Albany. Four subsequent events of importance 
marked his tenure of the archiepiscopate; namely, his attendance 
on the Vatican Council, where he had a prominent position 
on one of the committees; his promotion to the cardinalate, 
when for the first time (April, 1875) the honor was conferred 
on an American! citizen; his attendance, although he arrived 
at Rome too late to take part in the election, on the Con- 
clave of 1878 that gave to the Catholic Church Pope Leo XIII., 
and the dedication in May, 1879, of New York's magnificent 
Cathedral. The notable career of America's first Cardinal closed 
on October 10, 1885. He was succeeded by his coadjutor, the Right 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. i 4X 

Rev. M. A. Corrigan, who had been transferred from Newark 
five years before. It is well known that Archbishop Corrigan, 
after attaining eminence in ecclesiastical [authority and honor, 
died prematurely on ,May 5, 1902, in the sixty-third year of his 
age, since when Archbishop Farley has presided over the arch- 
iepiscopate. 

Statisticians differ as regards the number of Catholics in the 
United States collectively, and in the diocese of New York in! 
particular. The best Catholic authority on the Church's history 
in American territory, the late Dr. Gilmary Shea, working from 
the official statistics of immigration since 1820, calculating as best 
he could the percentage of Catholic immigrants and allowing for 
each decade a natural increase of one-third over the total figures 
with which the decade starts, arrived at the conclusion that in 
1890 the number of Catholics in the United States was 10,627,000. 
The percentage of Catholics among subsequent immigrants and 
the ratio of natural increase adopted by Gilmary Shea would 
make the figures for 1908 considerably above 15,000,000. It is a 
reasonable estimate that about one-tenth of these are concen- 
trated in the archdiocese of New York, or at all events in that 
archdiocese coupled with the diocese of Brooklyn. 

The astonishing multiplication of Catholics in New York city 
has been paralleled by their extraordinary advance in respect of 
wealth, political distinction, professional eminence and general 
education. We can only appreciate the phenomenal progress by 
looking back a hundred years and recalling the fact that in 1808 
wise observers had good reason to believe that the Catholic 
Church, driven out of northern Europe by Luther and Henry 
VIII. and thrown into terrible confusion in Latin countries by the 
French Revolution, was in its death agony and had not strength 
enough left to put forth a new effort on the western side of the 
Atlantic. When the first Bishop of the New York diocese was 
consecrated Catholicism was feebler in the city and State than 
any obscure Protestant sect, and in the opinion of almost all 
disinterested onlookers it was destined so to remain. As the Rev. 
John Talbot Smith points out in his history of "The Catholic 
Church in New York/ 1 the twentieth century opens upon a very 



142 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

different scene. "Nowhere in the American Commonwealth," he 
says, "does the Catholic Church stand so firm and so high as in 
the city of New York, which is, indeed, a candlestick that would 
make the weakest light far reaching." It is, Dr. Smith adds, the 
greatest religious force in the metropolis. Social reformers and 
political leaders know well what it stands for. It stands for 
religion in individual human existence, and consequently it opposes 
with vigor the advance of indifferentism and agnosticism in Amer- 
ican life. It stands for religion in education. It has organized 
a church school system the fruits of which, in Dr. Smith's judg- 
ment, already shame the dry-rotten product of mere intellectual- 
ism. The Catholic Church stands also for indissoluble marriage. 
The divorce evil has not so much as stained the garments of the 
Catholic citizens of New York. It stands, finally, for the existing 
<;ivil order. Catholicism marshals its sons against the error that 
would destroy American liberty— such fatal perversities as so- 
cialism and communism. American statesmen know that the 
Catholic Church stands for an anti-socialistic policy and that 
they will find for times of trouble a sure rampart in the principles 
of American Catholicism. 

What a proud position to have attained in a single century! 
Dr. Talbot Smith, indeed, does not pretend that the Catholic 
Church is all it might be if its votaries were all doers of the 
word and not merely hearers of it. He is justified, however, in 
declaring that the Church in the United States has shown itself 
worthy of its home, and that the diocese of New York is a 
splendid representative of American Catholicism. 



{New York Times, Monday, April 2J> 1908.) 

THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 
The growth of the Catholic Church in the United States co- 
incides with the growth of the country. It has not been propor- 
tionately remarkable considering the enormous vitality and influ- 
ence of the Church of Rome all over the world. Therefore, it is not 
strange that New York is the largest Catholic city in the world— 
not strange if it is true. The statement means merely that a third 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 143 

of the inhabitants of the greater city are communicants of that 
branch of the Christian Church which has the largest membership. 
The celebration of the centenary of the foundation of the Catholic 
diocese in New York is, of course, an incident of great importance. 

The diocese has grown in 100 years from the smallest and 
poorest beginnings, just as the city has grown from a small, poor 
town with a few outlying villages to be a metropolis now nearly 
approaching London in size, and exerting an individual influence 
throughout the world. The manner of the growth of the diocese, 
however, has been more satisfactory to the Catholic, than that 
of the growth of the metropolis to the citizen. The diocese has 
grown harmoniously and consistently; foresight, patience, economy 
and wisdom have been exerted in its development, and it stands to- 
day as a representative of the unity and impregnable strength 
of the Roman Church. The city has grown uninterruptedly in 
size and wealth, but it is to-day a mass of unrelated parts, as 
lacking in unity of design as in harmony of spirit. If the same 
kind of well-regulated loyalty and zeal that has been devoted to 
the upbuilding of the Catholic Church hereabout had been exerted 
by the citizens in upbuilding their city, New York would be not 
merely the second city of the world in population and wealth, 
but, perhaps, the greatest city the world has ever known, a 
municipality of realized ideals. 

We heartily congratulate our Catholic brethren on the occasion 
of their celebration, on their prosperity, on the good work they 
have accomplished for humanity, and on the beneficent influence 
their Church exerts in this neighborhood. 



{New-York Tribune, Wednesday, April 29, 1908.) 

THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

No American who was fortunate enough to find a place in 
St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday morning can have brought away 
the old outworn opinions about Catholicism and the Catholics 
to which he could hardly have failed to revert in memory as he 
gazed upon the scene. Stripped of its outward splendors, the 
spectacle at the solemn pontifical high mass marking the climax 



144 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY 

of the centenary celebration presented a vivid picture of the in- 
telligence, numerical strength and vast influence of Catholicism 
in the United States. 

So far as material prosperity counts, the archdiocese has 
ample reason to rejoice on this, the one-hundredth anniversary 
of its foundation. From old St. Peter's, in Barclay street, built 
in 1786, or twenty-two years before the arrival of a bishop, the 
Catholic Church in New York city has grown to a community 
of 318 churches and 186 chapels, frequented by nearly one and 
one-quarter million worshippers and representing, with its af- 
filiated charitable institutions and schools, an ecclesiastical in- 
vestment of scores of millions. But its chief warrant for justi- 
fiable pride is found in the character of the men and women who 
owe it allegiance. There can be little doubt that American 
Catholics, and notably those of this archdiocese, are, as a whole, 
the most enlightened and most progressive body of all that look 
to Rome for spiritual guidance. The fact has wide import, afford- 
ing, as it does, clear proof that the vital strength of Catholicism 
lies deep below the more or less accidental forms of organization 
and ceremony. For this reason the present imposing celebration 
will join with happy reminiscences the brightest hopes for later 
days. 



[(New York Herald, Monday, April 27, 1908.)] 

THE CATHOLIC CENTENNIAL. 

The centennial celebration of the founding of the Catholic 
diocese of New York was begun yesterday with masses of thanks- 
giving in the three hundred churches of the present archdiocese, 
and will be continued with various functions throughout the week 
and end on Saturday with a public parade. 

The event is of interest not only to the Catholics, who consti- 
tute about one-third of the population of this great city, and their 
coreligionists elsewhere, but to< the entire community. Celebrations, 
civic or religious, always give rise to extravagant hyperboles and 
"gush," and the present will probably prove no exception to tha 
rule. 




ARCHBISHOP CORRIGAN. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 145 

Setting all this aside and looking- only at the growth of the 
Catholic Church here in the past one hundred years, and the great 
practical work it has accomplished, there is matter to arrest the 
attention and excite the reflection of persons of all creeds and of 
no creed. The material growth from the solitary church and the 
one little school of a century ago is made visible in the hundreds 
of churches of to-day, the voluntarily supported parochial schools, 
in which more than 70,000 children are being educated, the institu- 
tions of higher learning, orphan asylums, hospitals and various 
charitable institutions. 

In drawing attention to this visible work of the Church the 
centennial celebration also suggests to thoughtful persons the in- 
visible work of which all this is the outward symbol. The old days 
of prejudice and intolerance have passed, and now that the world 
is resounding with the blows of those who are trying to knock the 
props from under all revealed religion, men of other creeds, while 
they reject her dogma, give warm and sympathetic recognition to 
the old Church's service in stemming the tide of atheism and an- 
archy and defending the sanctity of marriage and the home, the 
cornerstone of society. 

The work done by the Catholic Church among the millions of 
immigrants of all races that have arrived at this port in influenc- 
ing them to good conduct and assimilating them with our citi- 
zenship is simply stupendous. Prelates whose names are famous 
did not do all of this work. Thousands of obscure priests gave 
their days and nights to the physical and spiritual care of poor 
dwellers in tenement quarters and wore out their lives in self- 
sacrificing devotion to duty. 

Tens of thousands of humble laymen members of the St. Vin- 
cent de Paul societies of the parish churches—men too illiterate to 
frame high sounding sociological phrases — devoted themselves after 
days of toil to visiting the sick and destitute and saving them from 
despair and crime. 

In the century the achievements of which are now being cele- 
brated all Catholics— clerics and laity— may take a just pride, and 
it is fitting that all should take part in this celebration, which will 



i 4 6 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

be followed with sympathetic interest by all citizens, for the growth 
of the Church has been part of the growth of New York. 



(The World, Sunday, April 26, 1908.) 

A DIOCESE OF ALL NATIONS. 

So many of the Catholics of the Diocese of New York were of 
Irish origin in the first decade of the 1800' s that Archbishop Carroll 
suggested St. Patrick's as the name of the first cathedral, in Mott 
street. The edifice was dedicated on Ascension Day in 1815. It is 
now the church home of 28,000 Italians, while in the diocese of 
which the newer St. Patrick's, in Fifth avenue, is the ecclesastic 
centre, more than a score of nationalities are represented. 

The hundred years of this diocese, of which the formal celebra- 
tion begins to-day, cast an illuminating sidelight upon the national 
history of immigration. Even before the first St. Patrick's was 
built there were in New York Catholic sermons in French and 
German, as well as in English. German adherents to the faith 
separated from St. Peter's in 1808 to form a separate body, and in 
the thirties they began to increase rapidly in numbers and influ- 
ence. Italian immigration began to make itself felt after the Civil 
War, and since 1880 has commanded special attention. 

Of the 1,200,000 Catholics now in the diocese 515,000 are American 
born, but are to a large extent of foreign born parentage. Next 
in the count come 300,000 Italians, 140,000 Irish, 40,000 Germans, 25,000 
French, 20,000 Spanish speaking people, 18,000 Bohemians 15,000 
Albanese (Greek Church), 9,500 Poles, and groups of Ruthenians, 
Hungarians, English, Austrians, Lithuanians, Canadians, Maronites, 
Syrians, Belgians, etc., ranging from 7,000 down. There are 3,000 
negro Catholic communicants. In Manhattan alone are ten Italian 
churches and four chapels. The Germans also have ten churches 
in this borough, while the Bohemians have two, and the French, 
Spanish, Poles, Hungarians and Ruthenians (Greek Church) have 
one each. Manhattan has also a Catholic church for negroes, that 
of St. Benedict the Moor. 

It is not probable that the world affords another diocese so 
strangely and prosperously cosmopolitan as this. 






THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 147 

(The World, Sunday, April 19, 1908.) 

A DIOCESAN CENTENARY. 

Roman Catholics were proscribed in New York, under Dutch 
and British Protestantism, until after the War of the Revolution. 
They met a few at a time in secret. The first mass in this city is 
said to have been celebrated in a loft over a carpenter's shop in 
Barclay street. Until 1786, when St. Peter's was opened, also in 
Barclay street, the Catholics had no local church. 

The wonders of a little less than a century and a quarter of 
church growth are now about to be exhibited in the celebration 
of the centenary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York. 
There are more than 1,200,000 adherents in this metropolitan division 
to be concerned in the week's exercises beginning next Sunday. 
An Archbishop, a Bishop and 856 priests preside over 309 churches. 
The schools, asylums, parish houses and other institutions of the 
diocese make a long list. There are twenty orders of men and 
forty of women. The diocesan property is valued, all told, at 
$54,000,000. 

To heighten the impressiveness of these figures one must bear 
in mind that the present limits of the diocese have been fixed only 
since 1853. The early Bishops presided over the States of New 
York and New Jersey. New centres were named in Albany and 
Buffalo in 1847, and six years later Long Island and New Jersey 
were cut off. This diocese includes now the counties of New York, 
Richmond, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Rock- 
land and Sullivan, besides the Bahama Islands. 

The seven men who have presided over the Roman Catholic 
Diocese of New York have included the first American Cardinal, 
John McCloskey, whose elevation in 1875 preceded that of Cardinal 
Gibbons by eleven years, and an Archbishop, John Hughes, whose 
zeal for the public, as well as for the Church, led to his being se- 
lected by President Lincoln for a delicate mission in Civil War 
time to Napoleon III. The diocese has made history even as it has 
made progress. 



1 4 8 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY, 

\New York 'American, Wednesday, April 29, 1908.) 

THE GREAT CATHOLIC CENTENNIAL IN NEW YORK. 

The centenary celebration of the founding of the Catholic Dio- 
cese of New York reached its crowning interest yesterday. 

Not in the lifetime of American Catholics of this generation 
has the metropolis witnessed a ceremonial so splendid, so imposing 
and so significant. A million of our people were rejoicing in a 
century of Catholicism. 

In the splendid cathedral reared by the generous and faithful, 
the poor and the rich of the Church were assembled—the princes 
and dignitaries of the faith, the Cardinal Prince of the Irish 
Church, the Cardinal Prince of the American Church, archbishops 
and bishops of the United States and Canada, and the apostolic dele- 
gate of Pius X, made magnificent the demonstration of one Church 
under one head. The mass was celebrated upon a thousand altars, 
and hundreds of/ thousands partook of the sacrament of communion, 
while the mightiest prelates and orators of the faith thundered 
eloquently in the pulpits of their cathedrals. 

Wonderful the pageant, inspiring the numbers and boundless 
the devotion of this great religious body, whose fidelity, consistency, 
coherency and charity have for centuries been the marvel of the 
world. 

Breathing through all the public and private utterances of 
priest and prelate at this celebration was the spirit of patriotism 
mingling with the spirit of piety. The love of country— the love of 
America, the land of liberty— came warm and glowing from the 
lips and heart of every preacher, and the spoken impulse of the 
great ceremonial was pitched to the making of better men and 
better citizens everywhere. 

The Catholic centennial comes to New York and to the coun- 
try of which it is the metropolis timely to celebrate not only the 
hundredth anniversary of establishment, but as well to celebrate 
the complete and apparently final passing of those former preju- 
dices and persecutions which distressed the earlier Church. There 
is not a trace of the "Know Nothing" party left in the Republic, 
and the more recent organization which sought to revive its an- 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 149 

tagonisms has spluttered out its life and sunk to permanent repose. 

The broad spirit of Christian charity and fellowship compasses 
the religious world and has expanded to almost millennial propor- 
tions in the fellowship of man, which unites almost every creed 
under the larger and nobler conception of the Fatherhood of God. 

And surely this great metropolis must recognize in high grati- 
tude the mighty work of development which has kept pace with the 
progress of the American Catholic Church. From one little church 
and one humble school a century ago, the great working body has 
to-day in this ecclesiastical province nearly sixteen hundred 
churches, twenty-seven hundred priests, nearly six hundred paro- 
chial schools, with more than a quarter million of pupils, con- 
tributed to the educational life and progress of the province. 

Tender and beautiful were the tributes which Cardinal Gib- 
bons and Archbishop Farley paid to their great and valiant prede- 
cessors—to the lion-hearted Hughes, the princely McCloskey, the 
learned and saintly Corrigan, and the self-sacrificing priests and 
laymen of the past— and thrilling was the eulogy which Cardinal 
Gibbons paid to the great and faithful Irish race, that has been for 
so many decades the pillar and prop of the great Roman Church. 

The eye and the brain and the heart of this New World metrop- 
olis have been profoundly stirred by this magnificent centennial of 
the New York Catholic Church. 



{The Evening Sun, Monday, April 27, 1908.) 

SOME LESSONS OF THE CELEBRATION. 

Cardinal Logue, who is the most interesting figure in the 
group of prelates taking part in the celebration of the centenary 
of the foundation of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New 
York, was surprised by the size of the buildings of Manhattan. 
But he was probably even more astonished to find that there was 
nothing sectarian in the attitude of this vast community toward 
the Church of which he is a leader. 

Archbishop Farley was the recipient a few weeks ago of con- 
gratulations from clergymen representing all shades of belief. He 
would have been less, or more, than human if he had not been 



ISO 



THE • CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 



pleased at such a proof of the esteem in which the great organiza- 
tion of which he is the local head is held by his fellow citizens. 

Our distinguished visitor must be interested to discover that 
with us the question of a man's creed has nothing to do with his 
business, social or political life. The average citizen does not 
know, and does not care, what church any of his associates belongs 
to. This does not mean that the question of religion is less inter- 
esting, or important, to Americans than to the people of other 
nations. It does mean, however, that the wise elimination by the 
fathers of any relation between the State and the Church has pro- 
moted charity, in the best sense of the word. 

In other countries there is a church question which introduces 
a complication into political and educational problems. In Ireland, 
for instance, a Liberal government has hit on a plan for university 
reform which will have the inevitable result of separating the 
youth of the Catholic, Episcopal and Presbyterian communions. 
Fortunately for us there is no such cause of prejudice in opera- 
tion. The tendency is all the other way. And in spite of the 
strength of what is called Modernism, all the world over, the 
churches here have no reason to complain that the "new theology" 
is stimulated by American tolerance. 



(The New York Evening Journal, Saturday, May 2, 1908.) 

In New York City loyal Cath- 
olics, distinguished members of 
the clergy from all over the world, 
are celebrating the one hundredth 
anniversary of the New York Dio- 
cese, perhaps the most prosperous 
and greatest in the world. 

Cardinal Logue, Primate of Ire- 
land, and successor of St. Patrick 
in the cathedral at Armagh, ex- 
presses in the Sunday American and Journal to-morrow his im- 
pressions of the great celebration. He strikes the keynote in 



The Foundations of 

the Great 

Catholic Church. 

They Were I<aid Centuries 
Ago, in the Savage Mid- 
dle Ages, When the 
Church Alone Pre- 
served Civilization 
and Fought 
Brutality. 
Copyright, 1908, by Amer- 
ican-Journal-Examiner. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 151 

emphasizing the fact that the Church of which he is an ornament 
thrives under all governments and in all countries, thanks to the 
ceaseless devotion of Catholic laymen to their clergy. 

To understand the enduring power of a great structure like 
the Catholic Church it is necessary to know the FOUNDA- 
TIONS of that structure, to know the work that the clergy of 
the Catholic Church did in the Middle Ages, the black ages of 
ignorance and brutality. The wonderful work of the Church — 
its services to humanity, to the poor and the friendless — explains 
the devotion of the Catholic people to their clergy. 

All our readers, of whatever faith, will be interested in a 
few brief quotations taken from Taine's admirable work, "The 
Ancient Regime." Taine held no brief for Catholicism or the 
Catholic clergy. He was by no means a devout man, not even 
a lukewarm believer. But he was a magnificent historian and 
JUST, and in the splendid tribute that he pays to the Catholic 
clergy he is simply historically ACCURATE. 

He says: 

Of the three superposed foundations (clergy, nobles and king) 
the most ancient and deepest was the work of the clergy. For 
twelve hundred years and more they had labored upon it. In the 
beginning", during the first four centuries, they constituted religion 
and the church. Let us ponder over these two words. In a 
society founded on conquest, hard and cold like a machine of 
brass, forced by its very structure to destroy among its subjects 
all courage to act and all desire to live, they had proclaimed the 
"glad tidings," held forth the "kingdom of God," inspired patience, 
gentleness, humility, self-abnegation and charity, thus opening the 
only issues by which man stifling in the Roman ergastulum 
(prison) could again breathe and see daylight— and this is religion. 

The clergy continues to build on these foundations, and after 
the invasion, for over five hundred years, it saves what it can still 
save of human culture. It sends missionaries to the backwoods 



152 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

or converts them directly after their entrance; this is of vast 
service; we can estimate it by one fact alone. In Great Britain, 
which, like Gaul, had become Latin, but whereof the conquerors 
remained pagan, during a century and a half, arts, industries, 
society, language, all were destroyed; nothing remained of an 
entire people, either massacred or fugitive, but slaves. 

We have still to divine their traces; reduced to the condition 
of beasts of burden, they disappear from history. 

SUCH MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE FATE OF EUROPE if the 
clergy had not promptly tamed the fierce brutes to which it be- 
longed. 

Before the bishop in his gilded cope, before the monk, "emaci- 
ated, clad in skins," wan, "dirtier and more spotted than a 
chameleon," the converted German stood fear-stricken as before 
a sorcerer. 

At the moment of violating a sanctuary he asks himself 
whether he may not fall on its threshold with vertigo and a broken 
neck. Convinced through his own perplexity, he stops and spares 
the farm, the village and the town which live under the priest's 
protection. 

If the animal impulse of age, or of primitive lusts, leads him 
to murder or to rob, later, after satiety, in times of sickness or 
of misfortune, taking the advice of his concubine or of his wife, 
he repents and makes restitution two-fold, ten-fold, a hundred- 
fold, unstinted in his gifts and immunities. Thus, over the whole 
territory, the clergy maintains and enlarges its asylums for the 
oppressed and vanquished. 

On the other hand, among the warrior chiefs with long hair, 
by the side of kings clad in furs, the mitred bishop and abbot 
with shaven brows take seats in the assemblies; they alone know 
how to use the pen and how to discuss. Secretaries, councillors, 
theologians, they participate in all edicts; they have their hand 
in the government; they strive through its agency to bring a little 
order out of immense disorder; to render the law more rational 
and more humane, to re-establish or preserve piety, instruction, 
justice, property, and especially marriage. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 153 

To their ascendency is certainly due the police system, such 
as it was, intermittent and incomplete, which PREVENTKD 
EUROPE FROM FALLING INTO A MONGOLIAN ANARCHY. 

If, down to the end of the twelfth century, the clergy bears 
heavily on the princes, it is especially to repress iru them and 
beneath them the brutal appetites, the rebellions of flesh and 
blood, the outbursts and relapses of irresistible ferocity which are 
undermining 1 the social fabric. 

Meanwhile, in its churches and in its convents it preserves the 
ancient acquisitions of humanity, the Latin tongue, Christian 
literature and theology, a portion of pagan literature and science, 
architecture, sculpture, painting, the arts and industries which 
aid worship, the more valuable industries which provide man with 
bread, clothing and shelter, and especially the greatest of all 
human acquisitions, and the most opposed to the vagabond humor 
of the idle and plundering barbarian, THE HABIT AND TASTE 
FOR LABOR. 

In the rural districts depopulated through Roman flac, by the 
revolt of the Bagaudes, by the invasion of the Germans and by 
the raids of brigands, the Benedictine monk built his cabin of 
boughs amid briars and brambles; large areas around him, formerly 
cultivated, are nothing but abandoned thickets. 

Along with his associates he clears the ground and directs 
building; he domesticates half-tamed animals; he establishes a 
farm, a mill, a forge, an oven, and shops for shoes and clothing. 
According to the rules of his order, he reads daily for two hours; 
he gives seven hours to manual labor, and he neither eats nor 
drinks more than is absolutely essential. 

Through his intelligence, voluntary labor, conscientiously per- 
formed and with a view to the future, he produces more than 
the layman. Through his temperate, judicious, economical system, 
he consumes less than the layman. Hence it is that where the 
layman had failed he sustains himself and even prospers. 

HE WELCOMES THE UNFORTUNATE, FEEDS THEM, sets 
them to work, and unites them in matrimony; beggars, vagabonds 
and fugitive peasants gather around the sanctuary. Their camp 
gradually becomes a village, and next a small town; man ploughs 



154 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

as soon as he can be sure of his crops, and becomes the father 
of a family as soon as he considers himself able to provide for 
his offspring. In this way new centres of agriculture and industry 
are formed which likewise become new centres of population. 

The clergy thus nourished men for more than twelve centuries, 
and in the grandeur of its recompense we can estimate the depths 
of their gratitude. Its popes, for two hundred years, were the dic- 
tators of Europe. It organized crusades, dethroned monarchs and 
distributed kingdoms. It held in its grasp a third of the territory, 
one-half of the revenue and two-thirds of the capital of Europe. 
Let us mot believe that man counterfeits gratitude or that he 
gives without a valid motive; he is too egotistical and too envious 
for that. 

In the way of charity, the monks who remain on their premises 
and witness the public misery continue faithful to the spirit of 
their institution. The Augustins of Mont Morillon in Poitou pay 
out of their own resources the tallies and corvees of nineteen 
poor families. In 1781, in Provence, the Dominicans of St. Maximin 
supported the population of their district in which the tempest 
had destroyed the vines and the olive trees. 

"The Carthusians of Paris furnished the poor with eighteen 
hundred pounds of bread per week. And, to provide for these 
extra necessities, many of the communities increase the rigor of 
their abstinences." At Moutiers-Saint-John, near Semur, in Bur- 
gundy, the Benedictines of Saint-Maur support the entire village 
and supply it with food during the famine. Near Morley, in Bar- 
rois, the Abbey of Aubey, of the Cistercian order, "was always, 
for every village in the neighborhood, a bureau of charity." At 
Airvaulte, in Poitou, the municipal officers, the colonel of the 
national guard and numbers of "rustics and inhabitants'* demand 
the conservatism of the regular canons of St. Augustine. "Their 
existence," says the petition, "is absolutely essential as well for 
our town as for the country, and we should suffer an irreparable 
loss in their suppression." In scores of places declarations are 
made that the monks are "the fathers of the poor." In the 
diocese of Auxerre, during the summer of 1789, the Bernardines, 
of Rigny, "stripped themselves of all they possessed in favor of 




MORGAN J. O'BRIEN. 
Mr. O'Brien was chairman <o£ th e general committee, which was 
composed of some of the fore most citizens of the Republic. 
It was their zeal for the faith and loyalty to Arch- 
bishop Farley that made possible the 
success of the centenary. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 155 

the inhabitants of neighboring villages; bread, grain, money and 
other supplies have all been lavished on about twelve hundred 
persons who, for more than six weeks, never failed to present 
themselves at their door daily." 

Taine says truly that man does not "counterfeit gratitude or 

give without a valid motive." To understand the devotion of 

Catholics to their clergy it is necessary to know the part that 

clergy have played among their people in time of trouble, 

whether it be the passing sorrow of death or accident to the 

individual, or the long-drawn-out dark ages of human misery, 
when, as Taine so truly tells us, the Catholic clergy were the 

sole preservers of civilization, the only friends of the wretched 

poor, the INTELLECTUAL FORCE THAT PRESERVED 

EUROPE FROM MONGOLIAN ANARCHY AND MENTAL 

DEATH. 



(The Evening Post, Saturday, April 25, 1908.) 

For a week to come the celebration of the centenary of the 
Catholic Diocese of New York will be marked by impressive re- 
ligious ceremones and public meetings. The event is one to ap- 
peal strongly even to those not of the Catholic faith. What the 
Catholic churches and prelates and priests and laymen have been 
and done in this city during the past hundred years may well 
invite earnest consideration. For a great part of this work there 
can be nothing but praise. Some of its indirect results are al- 
most as striking aa the direct achievement. Note, for example, 
how much the steady ongoing of Catholic activity has done to ex- 
tinguish, or at least silence, ancient prejudices. We do not know 
that Protestants will be asked in any way to participate in the 
centenary meetings; but if they were, and should speak out frankly 
the thoughts of their hearts, they could bear a testimony which 
would be, in some ways, more telling than any coming from 
within the pale of the Church. 

Remembering the old and bitter anti-Catholic feeling, it marks 



156 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

a great transformation that to-day it would be true to say that the 
Protestant churches would look upon the extinction or withdrawal 
of the Catholic churches as a great calamity. This does not imply 
that religious or even theological conviction has broken down; but 
that tolerance has broadened and that eyes have been opened to see 
the facts. We are certain that Protestant denominations would 
be simply aghast and appalled if they were asked to take over 
the work of the Catholic Church in New York. They could not 
begin to do it. Even if they had the physical resources— the men, 
and money, and buildings— they would have neither the mental 
nor moral ability. For long years now the Catholic Church in 
this great port has been receiving and controlling and assimilating 
one influx of foreign, peoples after* another. It has held them for 
religion, and it has held them for citizenship. No one can soberly 
reflect upon this vast labor of education and restraint without 
becoming convinced that it has been an indispensable force in 
our public life. The Protestant churches have been and are now 
more than ever unfitted, whether by temperament or methods, to 
attack so gigantic a problem. They lack the authority — the com- 
pelling force of supernatural fears, if one insists. Nothing but a 
venerable and universal institution, always the same yet always 
changing, could have taken her incoming children— the raw mate- 
rial of Americans— and done for them what the Catholic Church 
in this city has done during the memorable century now rolled past. 
Even those who cannot pretend to speak of Catholic dogma 
with entire sympathy must confess that some of its moral results 
have been admirable and useful. The firm stand of the Church 
in the matter of marriage and divorce, for example, seems more 
and more a blessing as the laxness of law and of custom in that 
respect goes on increasing. Other churches have been forced, if 
only out of shame at the welter of marital relations into which 
American society seems sometimes to be falling, to imitate and 
approximate the rigid standards of Catholics. "We would not 
maintain that the Catholic position is an unmixed good; it has its 
incidental evils; but the testimony which it has borne to the ideal 
of the Christian family is something which cannot be overlooked 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 157 

when those who are not sons of the Church are reckoning* up 
their debt to her. 

A criticism often made is that the Catholic Church in this 
country, particularly in New York City, has been too much given 
to going into politics; that it has been too little scrupulous in 
acknowledging" and even honoring notorious political scoundrels 
who called themselves good Catholics; and that it has accepted 
without question gifts from sources that a prophet could not 
have looked at with unbandaged eyes. We suppose that not even 
the most loyal Catholic would maintain that his Church is im- 
peccable on this score. We ourselves have met priests from Ire- 
land who have blushed at some of our Tammany Catholics. And 
Mr. Ryan's cathedral in Richmond was received and consecrated 
without one comminatory rite against tainted wealth. But we 
know of no Protestant Church that is entitled to cast a stone on 
this account. The truth is that all churches, under the free sys- 
tem, have to take their own wherever they find it, devoutly hoping" 
that the Lord will sanctify the gift. And as for Church in poli- 
tics, we would back the Methodists against the Catholics, any day! 

All in all, this Catholic celebration is one in which the whole 
city may take an interest, and a certain pride. If of nothing else, 
we may be proud that a great deal of the former narrowness has 
passed away. Thinking: broadly of the Church as a school in 
public righteousness, we may be grateful for every steady and 
powerful teacher of goodness, like the Catholic Church. The old 
misunderstandings and enmities are happily gone. No one would 
think of bringing out to-day a new edition of "Kirwan's Letters"— 
they have only an historic interest. More and more is the world 
coming over to the position of George Eliot's dear woman who 
said that if there was any good to be got in this world, mercy 
knew we were in need of it. 



(The Globe, Wednesday, April 29, 1908.) 

To the million and a quarter Catholics of this community the 
present church festival cannot fail to bring an inspiration of pa- 
triotic as well as of religious fervor, while to the millions without 



158 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

the Church the allegiance and loyalty of hierarchy and laymen 
to the thing's for which this nation stands must give the cele- 
bration a large claim upon their enthusiasm. Cardinal Gibbons in 
his address of yesterday said that he regarded the selection of 
John Carroll as the first Bishop of Baltimore as a most provi- 
dential event for the welfare of the American Church. "For if 
a prelate of narrow views, a man out of sympathy and harmony 
with the genius of the new Republic, had been chosen, the prog- 
ress of the Catholic religion would have been seriously impeded." 
And what the Cardinal said of his predecessor might be said in 
turn of the Cardinal and of other American prelates. Men like 
Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland have not only taught religion. 
They have as w r ell taught patriotism and reverence for the insti- 
tutions of democracy. Their influence has sunk deep and become 
representative, so that when we think of the relation of the 
Catholic Church to the American State we almost inevitably adopt 
the terms provided by these Church officers. 

The significance of this is realized when the recent history of 
Church and State in Germany and Prance, and even in Italy and 
Spain, is considered. It does not help things when either a Bis- 
marck or a pontiff has to go to Canossa, and since the early 
history of the United States such a thing has not been necessary 
in this country. It was legally possible for the Colonies to make 
ecclesiastical and religious discriminations. And various colonies 
made them. It has always been constitutionally possible for the 
states — as distinguished from the national government — to make 
them. And some states in their earlier history did make them, 
clearly as these discriminations were at war with the genius of 
our institutions. But that time is gone; even the times of the 
A. P. A. and the "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" agitation 
have disappeared to return no more. The Catholic Church has 
become a buttress of republican government in the United States. 
And broad has been the spirit of the government toward that 
Church, as witnessed, for example, in the purchase of the friars' 
lands in the Philippines. A reciprocal generosity of sentiment 
has sprung up which should gain strength greatly as the years 
pass by. 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 159 

To priest and layman of discerning mind and broad sympathies, 
to men of modern spirit, such a festival as that now celebrating 
opens wide vistas of rich possibility. The Catholic Church as much 
as any other, and more than most other churches, merits the ap- 
proval of the civic commonwealth. 



(The Evening Mail, Saturday, April 25, 1908.) 

The centennial of the creation of the Catholic Archdiocese of 
New York, which begins to-morrow, is not so much a celebration 
for the city to watch as for it to get into. It concerns »us all in 
some sense, for the history of the Catholic Church in the last 
century is bound up with the history of the me- 
A Century of tropolis. The growth of one has been the growth 
Catholicism. of the other, and even more swiftly than the 
growth of the city has been that of the Church. 
It leads all other communions in its membership, and by a great 
margin. There are 1,200,000 Catholics in the metropolitan district, 
317 churches and 186 chapels; and a property in land and build- 
ings within the Archdiocese estimated at about $54,000,000. 

These figures scarcely suggest the contributions of the Church 
in this Archdiocese to every aspect of the city life. Its effective 
work for temperance, its large and finely administered charities, 
its primary and secondary schools, its devoted guardianship of 
the family as the central institution of a Christian civilization, 
its regiments of distinguished men, leaders in the professions, in 
civic life and in humane endeavor, all are items in a total, pride 
in which is no more confined to the limits of the Church than its 
influences and benefits have been to its own communicants. The 
Cathedral of St. Patrick's, the largest and stateliest ecclesiastical 
edifice in the city, symbolizes in more than one respect the posi- 
tion of the Catholic Church in the city's history. 

There is one aspect of the work of this archdiocese that is 
unique, so far as this country is concerned, but that has a parallel 
in the earlier history of the Catholio Church. A century ago, 
when old St. Peter's, in Barclay street, was the mother church, 
most of the Catholics of the city were Irish. There has since 



160 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

come into their fellowship a vast multitude from other lands- 
Rhine Germans, Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Bohemians, Slovaks, 
and a dozen other smaller races. To them the Catholic Church 
of this jurisdiction has indeed been "the Church universal." It 
has been the same bond of union, the same solvent of racial dif- 
ferences, that it was in the earlier days of Christendom, when 
another and still mighter migration accompanied and followed the 
breaking up of the Roman Empire, and warring nations of alien 
tongue, succeeding to the inheritance of the Caesars, yet acknowl- 
edged the leadership of the Pope. 

The harmonizing, unifying, fraternal work performed without 
friction by the priests of the Catholic Church in this city, among 
the strange races that have come to it from other lands, is a 
spectacle that gives the pioneer service of Catholicism a contem- 
porary setting, and must command admiration, and something 
more. 



(The Evening Mail, Wednesday, April 29, 1908.) 
American institutions and American Catholicism have had only 
harmonious and beneficent reactions upon each other. One side 
of their relations is shown in the consistent patriotism and 
high services of Catholic citizens, to which Washington was one 
of the first to bear testimony. The other side is declared in the 
circumstances of the centennial of this diocese, now in progress. 

No other city in the world could duplicate in every respect 
the larger incidents of this celebration, if we consider the number 
of Catholics represented in it, the extent and difficulty of the 
field covered by the clergy, the civic effectiveness of the laity, 
and all the intanglible factors that enter into the civil status of 
a church. 

The American idea and. the ideals of Catholicism are both vin- 
dicated in this centennial. 



THE CATHOLIC JUBILEE. 

(Staats-Zeitung, Monday, April 27, 1908.) 
In this free country, where the separation of State and Churcn 
was made a fundamental principle of our political institutions, every 




THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 161 

religious community which has come to a prosperous development 
can claim with good reason that for its standing it has to thank 
its own inherent value. 

Indeed, the enormous growth of the Catholic Church in the 
United States and the position which she holds to-day in America 
have been produced by exterior influence less than by her own 
inherent moral power. 

In the valuation of this power not only the number of the 
followers of this Church can be deciding, although the numerical 
strength must also be taken into consideration!. For the value of 
any mission of culture is not completely independent from the num- 
ber, as it is vital that the benefits of such culture may affect not 
only individuals but the masses. This consideration toward the 
masses of the people evidently has helped the expansion of the 
Catholic Church in this country, and has won for her besides her 
communicants friends and well-wishers wherever democratic ideas, 
such as are the foundation of this country, prevail amongst the 
people. 

It is but natural that in this writing only those works and 
acquisitions of the Catholic Church can be taken into consideration 
which are not of a purely religious nature, but which belong to the 
general domain of morality and of public welfare. In the first 
place reference must be made to the numerous works of individual 
and public charity and benevolence, which, under the care of the 
Church, have produced unlimited good and softened many a bitter 
sorrow. 

The coming of immigrants from Catholic countries was a con- 
siderable factor for the numerical increase of the Catholic Church. 
The importance of immigration has never been underestimated by 
the Church, and the whole character of the Jubilee by which, this 
week, the Archdiocese celebrates the centenary of its founding 
shows that the immigrants' faithful co-operation in the vast organi- 
zation is appreciated. As this day of remembrance contemporarily 
forms a commemoration of the works of the whole immigration 
in th<} New World this Jubilee commands proper participation on 
the rirt of all immigrated elements and their descendancy, and of 
all ' le many congratulations which are being extended on the 



ife THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

occasion of this Jubilee there is none more sincere and hearty than 
the one which the immigrant and his children and grandchildren 
are tendering to-day. 

At her Jubilee to-day the Catholic Church can well be proud of 
the perseverance with which she has succeeded in securing herself 
the liberty guaranteed her by the Constitution, this without infring- 
ing on the rights of any religious community. It is to be regarded 
as a blessing for our country that the enforcement of this claim 
for equal rights has not caused the formation of political parties 
with special religious doctrines. There was imminent danger of 
this, and this danger still exists in a certain way. For it is clear 
that behind all those efforts of intolerance, of which prohibition 
is a result, stands the influence of religious communities. So far 
it has been the part of wisdom of the Church that she has kept 
away from such narrow-minded efforts, and there is good ground 
for the belief that it will remain so in the future. 

Interference with personal liberty, as is nowadays recommended 
by a great number of sensational preachers, is in direct contrast 
with the tendency which has so far been followed on the Catholic 
side. 

Deviation from this plan would be a disappointment to all 
those who are of the opinion that in the domain of personal liberty 
the Catholic Church will ever withhold herself from the entangle- 
ments of a narrow-minded bigotry. Only recently Cardinal Gib- 
bons, the Primate of the Catholic Church in this country, and 
other prelates, with much publicity, has declared a thoroughly 
liberal policy, in rebuke of those, who, infected with the craze 
for prohibition, desired to exercise their religious influence for the 
spread of intolerance. 

A pure family life is the foundation of a strong race. The 
sanctity of the marriage tie, that is, insurance of matrimonial 
alliance against hasty contraction and frivolous abrogation of the 
same, is a fundamental condition of a pure family life. 

In this respect the Catholic Church has earned for herself and 
the country at large credit which is securing day by day a greater 
recognition, and this deservedly. For in view of the ever increas- 
ing cases of divorce, with all their shameful accompaniments, and 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 163 

in view of the moral degradation which are evidenced in this con- 
dition, brings out the necessity of a more stringent regulation 
more forcibly every day. 

In the above, reference to the solicitation of the Catholic Church 
for the welfare of the immigrants has been made. Nowhere has 
this care been better exercised than in the preservation of the 
mother tongue of the immigrants. By conserving the language 
the preservation of the love and affection for the old country 
went hand in hand. In contrast to the undue haste with which 
the remodelling of the immigrant into a full blooded American 
citizen is generally effected nowadays the Catholic Church has 
made it incumbent upon itself not to facilitate this remodelling 
process by artificial means, but to let it run its natural course. 

The reformers of to-day have yet to offer proof that their 
method is better than the old reliable one which has produced 
good American citizens out of the millions of immigrants without 
necessitation of the loss of their mother tongue and the love of 
their birthplace. Therefore, through the language of every race 
the great mingling process in the national melting pot, which is 
of such vital importance for the evolution of the American people, 
is carried. The German language has never had a safer refuge 
than the Catholic Church and its schools. Without desiring to 
underestimate the importance of the other elements which have 
co-operated in the preservation of the German character and 
language in this country, we must admit that in many cases the 
language would have ceased to exist had not the Catholic Church 
interested herself in its behalf. It would be unfair on the occasion 
of the centenary if the Germans did not appreciate the thanks 
which are due the Catholic Church in the preservation of the 
German tongue. 



A CLOSING WORD. 



A CLOSING WORD 

BY 

WILLIAM WINTER. 

The historian of the progress of human thought during 
a hundred years, — let us say, from 1808 to 1908 where 
we now stand, — would find himself confronted with a 
theme of vast import and perplexing difficulty. The 
mere mention of the changes that have occurred within 
that century, — changes in national relationship, forms of 
government, popular opinions, manners and customs, 
methods of education, facilities of world-wide intercourse, 
the character of the Press, the regulation of traffic, the 
employment of books, the status of the learned profes- 
sions, and the condition of the people, all over the civi- 
lized world, — would seriously tax his faculty of enumera- 
tion and largely augment the volume of his narrative. 
The critical analysis and exposition of those changes 
would present a task of formidable magnitude. All those 
results, seemingly of time, are, of course, referable to the 
gradual emancipation of the human mind from the in- 
heritance of circumstance and the multiform shackles of 
the Past. But such an historian, while delving amid a 
multiplicity of discordant movements and a myriad of 

unclassified details would discover one institution stead- 

167 



168 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

fastly pursuing a pre-ordained course and never deviat- 
ing from a distinct purpose. He might admire it, or he 
might censure it. He might sympathize with it, or he 
might antagonize it. He could not fail to perceive and 
to declare its clear design, its inveterate zeal, its iron 
stability. That institution is the Roman Catholic Church. 
Many schisms have occurred, within the century that has 
been designated. Many varieties of religion have made 
themselves manifest (in England, according to one 
French visitor, there are "five hundred religions and only 
one sauce"). Many sorts of clerical leaders have arisen, 

expounding the novelties, subtleties, and variable features 
of their several creeds, and pouring forth upon the multi- 
tude the seething torrents of their inflammatory eloquence. 
Many new faiths have been invented and many wild or- 
ganizations of eccentric proselytes have been formed to 
avouch and sustain them. In many ways, and in many 
countries, the complexion of human affairs has greatly 
changed. But the Roman Catholic Church has never wav- 
ered in its design of religious predominance ; has never fal- 
tered in its pious labor ; has never departed from its direct 
path ; and now, accordingly, reaping the reward of devo- 
tional persistence, it has been able to celebrate, with won- 
derful pomp and splendor of accessorial embellishment and 
amid fervid public enthusiasm, a complete, indisputable re- 
ligious supremacy in the greatest of American cities. To 



THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 169 

an impartial observer the latent significance of that cele- 
bration, — involving, as it did, one of the most impressive 
pageants ever seen in our country, — declares itself in one 
word, Sincerity. The Roman Catholic Church has pros- 
pered, has advanced, has conquered its pre-eminent posi- 
tion, for the simple reason that, whatever may be its de- 
fects (and nothing on earth is perfect), it believes in 
something. It has a definite faith. It does not theorize 
and speculate. It does not vacillate. It treats human be- 
ings as spiritual beings, inevitably destined to survive 
physical death: not as animals, possibly destined to sur- 
vive, possibly destined to perish. It admits no doubt. 
It explicitly states its doctrines and it never compromises 
about them or surrenders them. Its bed-rock is sincerity. 
That is the foundation of Roman Catholic Power; and 
it may be doubted whether at this hour there is any other 
Christian organization in the world so compactly formed 
and so powerful within the limits of its realm. Persons 
who do not believe in anything (of which class there are 
great numbers) are, necessarily, at the mercy of the 
winds and waves : they never rest anywhere. Their con- 
dition may be fortunate, or it may be deplorable; discus- 
sion of that matter would be inappropriate here. The 
persons who believe in something that can be definitely 
formulated are, at least, anchored somewhere; and, in a 
world of chance and change, it is not difficult to com- 



/ 



170 THE CATHOLIC CENTENARY. 

prehend that such persons find immeasurable comfort in 
their belief. The Roman Catholic Church has provided 
that refuge for its adherents ; and, because it has adhered 
to its convictions and never pretermited its devotional 
labor, it has pervaded almost every part of the world with 
a practical influence. Upon the rationalism, validity, or 
authenticity of its doctrines the present writer offers no 
comment. He is a mere spectator ; a mere recorder. He 
has been asked to write this conclusion of a plain, 
straightforward, non-sectarian chronicle of a moment 
historic event. He can only testify that, having closely 
observed Roman Catholic worship, sometimes in the most 
opulent temples that the Roman Catholic Church pos- 
sesses in the capital cities of the United States, England, 
France, and Germany, and sometimes in clay-built fabrics 
in the bleak wilderness of South-Western America, he 
has everywhere discerned the same underlying motive — 
absolute belief, absolute faith, absolute, passionate sin- 
cerity. That was the meaning of the recent stately pro- 
cession in the streets of New York, a multitudinous 
retinue, led by the Princes of the Roman Catholic Church 
and composed of its devoted followers. That was the 
meaning of every splendid scene that illumined the beau- 
tiful Cathedral. That is the dominant Thought imparted 
by the magnificent pageantry of the great celebration. 
L,et that be the Closing Word. 



ERRORS. 

Great care has been exercised in the preparation of 
this book — proofs having been read and revised and 
revised again by the principal persons quoted or con- 
cerned. 

Notwithstanding that care some errors, due to con- 
flicting statements and reports even more than to the 
stress of haste, crept into "The Catholic Centenary." 

All such errors which were not discovered until after 
the plates were cast and the body of this volume print- 
ed are here corrected. 

Page 4. After line "committee of the clergy" read : 
"General secretary, Rt. Rev. Mgr. P. J. Hayes, D. D." 

Page 6. After line "The Lay Committees/' read : 
"General Secretary, Charles Murray." 

Page 13, line 29: Read "mixed marriage contract- 
ed" for "Catholic marriage blessed." 

Page 25. In twelfth line, read : "He was born sixty- 
eight," for he was born sixty-nine." 

Page 44. Eighteenth line, read : "Father Kohlman," 
for "Father Coleman." 

Page 46. Tenth line, read : "Mr. and Mrs. Thomas 
Kelly," for "Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Kelly." 

Page 51. Thirteenth line: Read "Keily, of Savan- 
nah," for "Kelly, of Savannah." 

Page 71. Twenty-sixth line, read : "Of New York," 
for "of Armagh." 

Page 80. Tenth line, read: "church," for "cathe- 
dral." 



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